Group I. No. 20 2 



Price 10 cents 



CV 867 
.1192 
1907 
Copy 1 



ATHLrBTIC L/IBRARY 




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^M('"K-",i. li> 21 Warren Street. Ne^vYorK {{r^^%,}.fp£ 



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Grand Prize 
St. Louis. 1904 





A. G. Spalding & Bros. 

Maintain their own Wholesale and Retail 
Stores for the Distribution of 

Spalding s Athletic Library 

and a complete line of 
SPALDING ATHLETIC GOODS 

in the following cities: 



NEW YORK 

Downtown— 124-128 Nassau Street 
Uptown— 29-33 West 42d Street 
PHILADELPHIA 

1013 Filbert Street 
BOSTON. MASS. 

73 Federal Street 
BALTIMORE, MD. 

208 East Baltimore Street 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

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(Colorado Building) 
PITTSBURG. PA. 

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University Block 
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Communications directed to A. G. Spalding & Bros, at any of the above 
addresses, will receive prompt attention. 




SPALDING'S 

ATHLETIC 

UBRARY 




Spalding's Athletic Library is admitted to be the leading 
library series of its kind published in the world. In fact, 
it has no imitators, let alone equals. It occupies a field 
that it has created for itself. 

The Library was established in the year 1892, and it is an 
admitted fact by many authorities that Spalding's Athletic 
Library has accomplished a great deal in America for the 
advancement of amateur sport. 

The millions that read the Library during the year will 
attest to its value. A glance at its index will disclose the 
remarkable field that it covers. It is immaterial what the 
pastime may be, you will find in Spalding's Athletic Library 
a reference to it, either in a book devoted exclusively to 
that particular game or in some of the books that cover 
many sports. 

It has been the aim of the editors to make the books 
Official, and they are recognized as such, all the important 
governing bodies in America giving to the publishers of 
Spalding's Athletic Library the right to publish their official 
books and official rules. 

A glance at the names of the authors of the different vol- 
umes will convince the reader that the best men in each 
particular line, the men best qualified to write intelligently 
on each subject, are selected ; and, as a result, there is 
not another series in the world like Spalding's Athletic 
Library series. 

It is immaterial what new game or form of sport be 
conceived or advanced, it is invariably the aim of the 
publishers to have a book on that sport. In that way 
Spalding's Athletic Library is in the field at the beginning 
of the sport, follows it year in and year out and there can 
be no doubt whatever that the present popularity of athletic 
sports can attribute the same to the "backing" it has 
received from Spalding's Athletic Library. 



JAMES E. SULLIVAN. 



SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY 



I 



Giving the Titles of all Spalding Atnietic Ubrarg 
Boohs now in print, grouped for ready reference 



=:>oc= 



SPALDING OFFICIAL ANNUALS 



No. 


i 


No. 


2 


No. 


24 


No. 


3 


No. 


4 


No. 


5 


No. 


6 


No. 


7 


No, 


8 


No. 


9 


No. 


10 



Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
2a Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 
Spalding's Official 



No. 12 

Group I. Base Ball 

No. 1 Spalding's Official Base Ball 

Guide. 
No. 202 How to Play Base Ball. 
No. 223 How to Bat. 
No. 232 How to Run Bases. 
No. 230 How to Pitch. 
No. 229 How to Catch. 
No. 225 How to Play First Base. 
No. 226 How to Play Second Base. 
No. 227 How to Play Third Base. 
No. 228 How to Play Shortstop. 
No. 224 How to Play the Outfield. 

How to Organize a Base Ball 
Club. [League. 

How to Organize a Base Ball 
How to Manage a Base Ball Club. 
How to Train a Base Ball Team. 
How to Captain a Base Ball 
How to Umpire a Game. [Team. 
" Technical Base Ball Terms, 
No. 219 Ready Reckoner of Base Ball 
Peixentages. 
BASE BALL AUXILIARIES 
No. 291 Minor League Base Ball Guide. 
No. 293 Official Handbook National 
League of Prof. B. B. Clubs. 



Base Ball Guide 

Foot Ball Guide 

Association Foot Ball Guide 

Cricket Guide 

Lawn Tennis Annual 

Golf Guide 

Ice HocRey Guide 

Basket Ball Guide 

Bowling Guide 

Indoor Base Ball Guide 

Roller Polo Guide 

Athletic Almanac 



No. 
231 



Group II. 



Foot Ball 



No. 2 Spalding's Official Foot Ball 
Guide. 

No. 284 How to Play Foot Ball. 

No. 2A Spalding's Official (Soccer) 
Association Foot Ball Guide. 

No. 286 How to Play Soccer. 

FOOT BALL AUXILIARIES 

No. 283 Spalding's Official Canadian 
Foot Ball Guide. 

No. 294 Official Intercollegiate Associa- 
tion Soccer Foot Ball Guide. 

Group III. cricket 

No. 3 Spalding's Official Cricket 

Guide. 
No. 277 Cricket and How to Play It. 

Group IV. Lawn Tennis 

No. 4 Spalding's Official Lawn Tennii 

Annual. 
No. 157 How to Play Lawn Tennis. 
No. 279 Strokes and Science of Lawi 
Tennis. 

Group V Golf 

No. 5 Spolding's Official Golf Guide. 
No. 276 How to Play Golf. 

Group VI. Hockeg 

No. 6 Spalding's Official Ice Hockey 
No. 154 Field Hockey. iGuide. 

No. 188 Lawn Hockey. 
No. 180 Ring Hockey. 

HOCKEY AUXILIARY 

No. 256 Official Handbook Ontario 

Hockey Association. 



Any of the Above Books Mailed Postpaid Upon 
Receipt of 10 Cents 



g^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LffiRARY/T^ 



(roup VII. Basket Ball 

No. 7 Spalding's Offi cial Basket 

Ball Guide. 
No. 193 How to Play Basket Ball. 
No. 260 Basket Ball Guide for Women. 

BASKET BALL AUXILIARY 
No. 278 Official Collegiate Basket Ball 

Handbook. 

Group VIII. Bowling 

No. 8 Spalding's Official Bowling 
Guide. 

Group IX. Indoor Base Bail 

No. 9 Spalding's Official Indoor 
Base Ball Guide. 

Group X. Polo 

No. 10 Spalding's Offi cial Roller 
No. 129 Water Polo. [Polo Guide. 

No. 199 Equestrian Polo. 

Group XI. Miscellaneous Games 

No. 201 Lacrosse. 
No- 248 Archery. 
No. 138 Croquet. 
No. 271 Roque. 
•VT ("Racquets. 

^QA. ^Squash-Racquets. 

■^^* (Court Tennis. 
No. 13 Hand Ball. 
No. 167 Quoits. 
No. 170 Push Ball. 
No. 14 Curling. 
No. 207 Lawn Bowls. 
No. 188 Lawn Games. 
No. 189 Children's Games. 

Group XII. Aihieilcs 

No. 12 Spalding's Official Athletic 
Almanac. 

No. 27 College Athletics. 

No. 182 All Around Athletics. 

No. 156 Athletes' Guide. 

No. 87 Athletic Primer. 

No. 273 Olympic Games at Athens,1906. 

No. 252 How to Sprint. 

No. 255 How to Run 100 Yards. 

No. 174 Distance and Cross Country 
Running. 

No. 259 How to Become a Weight 
Thrower. 

No. 55 Official Sporting Rules. 

No. 246 Athletic Training for School- 
boys. 
ATHLETIC AUXILIARIES 

No. 241 Amateur Athletic Union Offi- 
cial Handbook. 

No. 217 Olympic Handbook (St. Louis). 

No. 292 Intercollegiate Official Hand- 
book. 



ATHLETIC AUXILIARIES -Con. 
No. 245 Y. M. C. A. Official Handbook. 
No. 281 Public Schools Athletic League 

Official Handbook. 
No. 274 Intercollegiate Cross Country 

Association Handbook. 

Athletic 
Group XIII. Accompiisnments 

No. 177 How to Swim. 

No. 128 How to Row. 

No. 209 How to Become a Skater. 

No. 178 How to Train for Bicycling. 

No. 23 Canoeing. 

No. 282 Roller Skating Guide. 

No. 296 Speed Swimming. 

Group XIV. Manly Sports 

No. 18 Fencing. (ByBreck). 

No. 162 Boxing. 

No. 165 Fencing. (By Senac). 

No. 140 Wrestling. 

No. 236 How to Wrestle. ^ 

No. 102 Ground Tumbling. 

No. 233 Jiu Jitsu. 

No. 166 How to Swing Indian Clubs. 

No. 200 Dumb Bell Exercises. 

No. 143 Indian Clubs and Dumb Bells. 

No. 262 Medicine Ball Exercises. 

No. 29 Pulley Weight Exercises. 

No, 191 How to Punch the Bag. 

No. 289 Tumbling for Amateurs. 

Group XV. Gymnastics 

No. 104 Grading of Gymnastic Exer- 
cises. 

No. 214 Graded Calisthenics and Dumb 
Bell Drills. 

No. 254 Barnjum Bar Bell Drill. 

No. 158 Indoor and Outdoor Gymnastic 
Games. 

No. 124 How to Become a Gymnast. 

No. 287 Fancy Dumb Bell and March- 
ing Drills. 

Group XVI. Physical culture 

No. 161 Ten Minutes' Exercise for 

Busy Men. 
No, 208 Physical Education and Hy- 
giene. 
No, 149 Scientific Physical Training: 

and Care of the Body, 
No. 142 Physical Training Simplified. 
No. 185 Hints on Health. 
No, 213 285 Health Answers. 
No. 238 Muscle Building, [nine. 

No. 234 School Tactics and Maze Run- 
No. 261 Tensing Exercises. [ics. 
No. 285 Health by Muscular Gymnast- 
No. 288 Indigestion Treated by Gym- 
No. 290 Get Well; Keep Well, [nasties. 



Any of the Above Books Mailed Postpaid Upon 
Receiot of lO Cents 



g^^SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY/7^ 



QtE 



Group I. Base Ball 

No. 1— Spalding's Official 
Base Ball Guide. 

The leading Base Ball 
annual of the country, 
and the official authority 
of the game. Edited by 
Henry Chadwick, the 
'•Father of Base Ball." 
Contains the official play- 
ing rules, with an ex- 
planatory index of the 
rules compiled by Mr. 
A. G. Spalding; pictures of all the 
teams in the National, American and 
minor leagues; official averages; re- 
views of the season in all the pro- 
fessional organizations; college Base 
Ball, and a great deal of interesting 
information. Price 10 cents. 

No. 202— How to Play Base 
Ball. 

Edited by T. H. 
Murnane. New and 
revised edition. 
Contents: How to 
become a good bat- 
ter; how to run the 
bases; advice to 
base runners. by 
James E. Sullivan, 
President A.A.U. ; 
how to become a good pitcher; 
how to become a good catcher; how 
to play first base; how to play sec- 
ond base; how to play third base; 
how to play shortstop; how to play 
the infield; how to play the out- 
field; the earmarks of a ball player, 
by John J. McGraw; good advice for 
players; how to organize a team; 
how to manage a team; how to 
score a game; how to umpire a 
game; base ball rules interpreted for 
boys. Price 10 cents. 

No. 223— How to Bat. 

The most important 
part of ball playing now- 
adays, outside of pitch- 
ing, is batting. The team 
that can bat and has 
some good pitchers can 
win base ball games; 
therefore, every boy and 
young man who has. of 
course, already learned to 
catch, should turn his attention to 
this department of the game, and 
there is no better way of becoming 
proficient than by reading this book 
and then constantly practising the 
litUe tricks explained. Price 10 cts. 






No. 2.32— How to Run tlie 
Bases. 

The importance of base 
running as a scientific! 
feature of the national 
game is becoming more 
and more recognized each | 
year. Besides being spec- 
tacular, feats of base 
stealing nearly always! 
figure in the winning of| 
a game. Many a cl 
contest is decided on the winning of 
that little strip of 90 feet which lies 
l)etween cushions. When hits are 
few and the enemy's pitchers steady, 
it becomes incumbent on the oppos- 
ing team to get around the bases in 
some manner. Effective stealing not 
only increases the effectiveness of 
the team by advancing its runners 
without wasting hits, but it serves 
to materially disconcert the enemy 
and frequently has caused an entire 
opposing club to temporarily lose its 
poise and throw away the game. 
This book gives clear and concise di- 
rections for excelling as a base run- 
ner; tells when to run and when not 
to do so; how and when to slide; 
team work on the bases; in fact, 
every point of the game is thor- 
oughly explained. Illustrated with 
pictures of leading players. Price 10 
cents. 

No. 230— How to Pitcli. 

A new, up-to-date book. 
The object of this book 
is to aid the beginners 
who aspire to become 
clever twirlers, and its 
contents are the practi- 
cal teaching of men who 
have reached the top as 
pitchers, and who know 
how to impart a knowl- 
edge of their art. All the big 
leagues' pitchers are shown. Price 
10 cents. 
No. 229— How to Catch. 

Undoubtedly the best 
book on catching thatf 
has yet been published. 
Every boy who has hopes! 
of being a clever catcher] 
should read how well- 
known players cover their I 
position. Among the| 
more noted ones who de- 
scribe their methods of 
play in this book are Lou Criger of 
the Boston Americans and Johnnie 
Kling of the Chicago Nationals. The 
numerous pictures comprise all the 
noted catchers in the big leagues. 
Price 10 cents. 





==^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY/^ 




No. 325— How to Play First 
Base. 

No other position in a 
ball team has shown 
such a change for the 
better in recent years as 
first base. Modifications 
in line with the better- 
ment of the sport in 
every department have 
been made at intervals, 
but in no other depart- 
ment have they been so radical. No 
boy who plays the initial sack can 
afford to overlook the points and 
hints contained in this book. En- 
tirely new and up to date. Illus- 
trated with full-page pictures of all 
the prominent first basemen. Price 
10 cents. 



No. 236— How to Play Second 
Base. 

There are so few men 
who can cover second 
base to perfection that 
their names can easily 
be called off by anyone 
who follows the game of 
base ball. Team owners 
who possess such players 
would not part with 
them for thousands of 
dollars. These men have been inter- 
viewed and their ideas incorporated 
in this book for the especial benefit 
of boys who want to know the fine 
points of play at this point of the 
diamond. Illustrated with full-page 
pictures. Price 10 cents. 



No. 227— How to Play Third 
Base. 

Third base is, in some 
respects, the most impor 
tant of the infield. No 
major league team has 
ever won a pennant with 
out a great third base- 
man. Collins of the Bos 
ton Americans and Leach 
of Pittsburg are two of 
the greatest third base- 
men the game has ever seen, and 
their teams owe much of the credit 
tot pennants they have won to 
them. These men in this book de- 
scribe just how- they play the posi- 
tion. Everything a player should 
know is clearly set forth and any 
boy will surely increase his chances 
of success by a careful reading of 
this book. Illustrated. Price 10 
cents. 







No. 228— How to Play Sliort- 

*_ Shortstop is one of the 

hardest positions on the 
infield to fill, and quick 
thought and quick action 
are necessary for a play- 
er who expects to make 
good as a shortstop. The 
views of every well- 
known player who cov- 
ers this position have 
been sought in compiling this book, 
Illustrated. Price 10 cents. 

No. 224— How to Play tlie 
Outfield. 

Compiled especially for 
the young player who 
would become an expert. 
The best book on play- 
ing the outfield that has 
ever been published. 
There are just as many 
tricks to be learned, be- 
fore a player can be a 
competent fielder, a s 
there are in any other position on a 
nine, and this book explains them 
all. Price 10 cents. 

No. 231— How to Coaeh; How 
to Captain a Team; Hotv 
to Manase a Team; How^ 
to Umpire; How- to Or- 
sranize a Leagrne; Tech- 
nical Terms of Base Ball. 
A useful guide to all 
who are interested in the 
above subjects. Jimmy 
Collins writes on coach- 
ing; M. J. Kelly on cap- 
taining; Al Buckenberger 
on managing; Frank 
Dwyer of the American 
League staff on umpir- 
ing; Fred Lake on minor 
leagues, and the editor, T. H. Mur- 
nane, President of the New England 
League, on how to organize a league. 
The chapters on Technical Terms of 
Base Ball have been written by 
Henry Chadwick, the "Father of 
Base Ball," and define the meaning 
of all the terms peculiar to the Na- 
tional Game. Price 10 cents. 

No. 219 — Ready Reckoner of 
Base Ball Percentages. 

To supply a demand l 
for a book which would 
show the percentage of | 
clubs without recourse to 
the arduous work of fig 
uring, the publishers! 
have had these tables | 
compiled by an expert. 
Price 10 cents. 





t^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LffiRARY/^ 





base: ball, auxiliaries. 

No. 291— Minor League Base 
Ball Guide. 

The minors' own guide. 
Contains pictures o f 
leading teams, schedules, 
report of annual meeting 
National Association of 
Professional Base Ball 
Leagues, special articles 
and official rules. Edited 
by President T. H. Mur- 
nane, of the New England League. 
Price 10 cents. (Ready May 1.) 

No. 293— Official Handbook 
of tlie National Leagne 
of Professional Base Ball 
Clubs. Contains the Constitu- 
tion, By-Laws, Official 
Rules, Averages, and 
schedule of the Na- 
tional League for the 
current year, together 
with list of club offi- 
cers and reports of the 
annual meetings of the 
League. Every follower 
of the game should have a copy of 
this book if he wants to keep his 
file of Base Ball books complete. 
Price 10 cents. 



Group IL Foot Ball 

No. 2— Spalding's Official 
Foot Ball Guide. 

Edited by Walter 
Camp. Contains the new 
rules, with diagram of 
field; All- America teams 
as selected by the lead- 
ing authorities; reviews 
of the game from vari- 
ous sections of the coun- 
try; 1905 scores of all 
the leading teams; pic- 
tures of hundreds of players. Price 
10 cents. 

No. 284— How to Play Foot 
Ball. 

Edited by Walter 
Camp. The contents em- 
brace everything that a 
beginner wants to know 
and many points that an 
expert will be glad to 
learn. The pictures are 
made from snapshots of 
leading teams and play- 
ers in action, with com- 
ments by Walter Camp. Price 10 
cents. 







No. 2A— Spalding's Official 
Association Soccer Foot 
Ball Guide. 



A complete and up-to- 
date guide to the 
"Soccer" game in the 
United States, containing 
instructions for playing 
the game, official rules, 
and interesting news 
from all parts of the 
country. Illustrated. 

Price 10 cents. 



No. 286— How to Play Soc- 
cer. 

Owing to the great 
interest shown in "Soc- 
cer" foot ball in Amer- 
ica, the publishers have 
had a book compiled in 
England, the home of the 
sport, telling how each 
position should be played, 
written by the best play- 
er in England in his re- 
spective position, and illustrated 
with full-page photographs of play- 
ers in action. As a text-book of 
the game this work is invaluable, 
and no "Soccer" player can affor<J 
to be without it. Price 10 cents. 



FOOT BALL AUXILIARIES. 

No. 283- Spalding's Official 
Canadian Foot Ball 

Guide. 



Edited by Frank D. 
Woodworth, Secretary- 
Treasurer Ontario Rugby 
Foot Ball Union. The 
official book of the game 
in Canada. Price 10 
cents. 



No. 294— Official Intercolle- 
giate Association Soccer 
Foot Ball 
Guide. 

Contains the constitu- 
tion and by-laws of the 
Association, pictures of 
the teams, and official 
playing rules. Price 10 
cents. 





^SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY / y^ 



Group ni. Cricket 

No. 3— Spaldiner's Official 
Cricket Guide. 

Edited by Jerome Flan- 
nery. The most com- 
plete year book of the 
game that has ever been 
published in America. 
Reports of special 
matches, oflScial rules 
and pictures of all the 
leading teams. Price 10 
cents. 

No. 277— Cricket; and How 
to Play it. 
By Prince Ranjitsinhji, 

Every department of 

the game is described 

concisely and illustrated 

with full-page pictures 

posed especially for this 

book. The best book 

of instruction on the 

game ever published. 

Price 10 cents. 





Group IV. 



Lawn 
Tennis 




pionships; 
pionships; 



No. 4— Spaldingr's Official 
lia-wn. Tennis Annual. 

Edited by H. P. Bur- 
chell, of the New York 
Times. Contents include 
a report of every impor- 
tant tournament played 
in 1906, embracing the 
National Championship, 
sectional and State tour- 
naments; invitation and 
open tournaments; inter- 
collegiate and interscholastic cham- 
women's national cham- 
foreign championships; in- 
door championships; official ranking 
for each year from 1885 to 1906; 
laws of lawn tennis; instructions for 
handicapping; decisions on doubtful 
points; regulations for the manage- 
ment of tournaments; directory of 
clubs; directions for laying out and 
keeping a court; tournament notes. 
Illustrated with pictures of leading 
players. Price 10 cents. 

No. 157— HoTV to Play Lawn 
Tennis. 

A complete description 
of lawn tennis; a lesson 
for beginners and direc- 
tions telling how to 
make the most impor- 
tant strokes. Illustrated. 
Price 10 cents. 





Golf 



Official 




No. 279— Strokes and Science 
of Lawn Tennis. 

By P. A. Vaile. a 
leading authority on the 
game in Great Britain. 
Every stroke in the 
game is accurately illus- 
trated and analyzed by 
the author. As a means 
of affording a compari- 
son between the Amer- 
ican and the English 
methods of play, this book is ex- 
tremely useful. Price 10 cents. 

Group V. 

No. 5— Spalding's 
Golf Guide. 

The leading annual of 
the game in the United 
States. Contains rec- 
ords of all important 
tournaments, articles on 
the game in various sec- 
tions of the country, 
pictures of prominent 
players, official playing 
rules and general items 
of interest. Price 10 cts. 

No. 276— How to Play Golf. 

By James Braid, the 
English Open Champion 
of 1906. A glance at 
the chapter headings 
will give an idea of the 
variety and value of the 
con tents: Beginners' 
wrong ideas; method of 
tuition; choosing the 
clubs; how to grip the 
club; stance and address in driving; 
the upward swing in driving, etc. ; 
Numerous full-page pictures of Cham- 
pion Braid in action add to the 
book's attractiveness. Price 10 cts. 

Group VI. Hockey 

No. 6— Spaldingr's Official Ice 
Hockey Guide. 

Written by the most 
famous player in Can- 
ada, A. Farrell, of the I 
Shamrock hockey team 
of Montreal. It contains 
a complete description [ 
of hockey, its origin, 
points of a good player, 
and an instructive ar- 
ticle on how game is' 
played, with diagrams and official 
rules. Illustrated with pictures of 
leading teams. Price 10 cents. 





g ^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LffiRARy/ T^ 





No. 154— Field Hockey. 

To those in need of 
vigorous and healthful 
out-of-doors exer c i s e, 
this game is recom- 
mended highly. Its 
healthful attributes are 
manifold and the inter- 
est of player and spec- 
tator alike is kept ac- 
tive through out the 
progress of the game. The game is 
prominent in the sports at Vassar, 
Smith. Wellesley, Bryn Mawr and 
other leading colleges. Price 10 centB. 

No. 188 — Lawn 
Hockey, Gartlen 
Hockey, Parlor 
Hockey. 

Containing the rules 
for each game. Illus- 
trated. Price 10 cents. 

No. 180— Ring Hockey. 

A new game for the 
gymnasium, invented by 
Dr. J. M. Vorhees of 
Pratt Institute, Brook- 
lyn, that has sprung 
into instant popularity; 
as exciting as basket 
ball. This book contains 
official rules. Price 10 
cents. 

HOCKEY AUXILIARY. 

No. 25«— Official Handbook 

of the Ontario Hockey 

Association. 

Edited by W. A. Hew- 
itt, of Toronto. Con- 
tains the othcial rules 
of the Association, con- 
stitution, rules of com- 
petition, list of officers, 
and pictures of leading 
players. Price 10 cents. 







Group VII. 



Basket 
Ball 



No. 7— Spaldingr's Official 
Basket Ball Guide. 

Edited by George T 
Ilepbron. Contains the 
revised official rules, de 
cisions on disputed 
points, records of promi- 
nent teams, reports on 
the game from various 
parts of the country 
and pictures of hundreds 
of players. Price 10 cents. 




No. 193— How to Play Basket 
Ball. 

By G. T. Hepbron, 
editor of the Official 
Basket Ball Guide. Con- 
tains full instructions 
for players, both for the 
expert and the novice, 
duties of officials, and 
specially posed full-page 
pictures showing the cor- 
rect and incorrect meth- 
ods of playing. The demand for a 
book of this character is fully satis- 
fled in this publication, as many 
points are included which could not 
be incorporated in the annual publi- 
cation of the Basket Ball Guide for 
want of room. Price 10 cents. 

No. 260— Official Basket Ball 
Guide for Women. 

Edited by Miss Senda 
Berenson, of Smith Col- 
lege. Contains the of- 
ficial playing rules of 
the game and special ar- 
ticles on the following 
subjects: Games for 
women, by E. Hitchcock, 
Director of Physical 
Training, and Dean of 
College, Amherst College; condition 
of women's basket ball in the Mid- 
dle West, by W. P. Bowen, Michigan 
State Normal College; psychological 
effects of basket ball for women, by 
Dr. L. H. Gulick; physiological ef- 
fects of basket ball, by Theodore 
Hough, Ph. D. ; significance of basket 
ball for women, by Senda Berenson; 
relative merit of the Y. M. C. A. 
rules and women's rules, by Augusta 
Lane Patrick; A Plea for Basket 
Ball, by Julie Ellsbee Sullivan, 
Teachers' College, New York; dia- 
gram of field. Illustrated with 
many pictures of basket ball teams. 
Price 10 cents. 

BASKET BALL. AUXILIARY. 

No. 278— Collegiate Basket 
Ball Guide. 

The official publication 
of the new Collegiate 
Basket Ball Associa- 
tion. Contains the of- 
ficial rules, collegiate 
and high school records, I 
All America selections, 
reviews of the collegiate 
basket ball season of ' 
1905-6, and pictures of 
all the prominent college teams and 
individual players. Edited by H. A. 
1 Fisher, of Columbia. Price 10 cts. 




g=^ SPALDING ATHLETIC UBnARY /r> 



Group Vra. Bowling 



j^jJf^Cc'/oc 



No. S— Spaldingr's Official 
Bo-wlin^ Guide. 

Edited by S. Karpf, 
Secretary of the Amer- 
ican Bowling Congress. 
The contents include: 
History of the sport; 
diagrams of effective de- 
liveries; how to bowl; a 
few hints to beginners; 
American Bowling Con- 
gress; the national 
championships; how to build an al- 
ley; how to score; spares — how they 
are made. Rules for cocked hat, 
cocked hat and feather, quintet, bat- 
tle game, nine up and nine down. 
head pin and four back, ten pins — 
head pin out, five back, the Newport 
game, ten pin head. Price 10 cents. 



Group IX. 



Indoor 
Base Ball 



No. 9— Spaldins'.s Official In- 
door Base Ball Guide. 

America's nat i o n a 1 
game is now vieing with 
other indoor games as a 
winter pastime. This 
book contains the play- 
ing rules, pictures of 
leading teams from all 
parts of the country, 
and interesting articles 
on the game by leading 
authorities on the subject 
cents. 




Price 10 



Group X. 



Polo 




No. 10— Spalding's 
Official Roller 
Polo Guide. 

Edited by J. C. Morse. 
A full description of the 
game; official rules, rec 
ords. Price 10 cents. 



No. 129— Water Polo. 

The contents of this 
book treat of every de- 
tail, the individual work 
of the players, the prac- 
tice of the team, how 
to throw the ball, with 
Illustrations and many 
valuable bints. Price 
10 cents. 






No. 199— Equestrian Polo. 

Compiled by H. L. 
Fitzpatrick of the New 
York Sun. Illustrated 
v.ith portraits of lead- 
ing players and contains 
most useful information 
for polo players. Price 
10 cents. 

_ .^ M iscellane- 
GroupXLous Games 

No. 201 — Lacrosse. 

By William C. 
Schmeisser. c aj p t a i n I 
Johns Hopkins Univer-| 
sity champion intercol- 
legiate lacrosse team of I 
1902; edited by Ronald | 
T. Abercrombie, ex-cap- 
tain and coach of Johns | 
Hopkins University la- 
crosse team. 1900-19n4. 
Every position Is thoroughly ex- 
plained in a most simple and concise 
manner, rendering it the best manual 
of the game ever published. Illus- 
trated with numerous snapshots of 
important plays. Price 10 cents. 

No. 248- Archery. 

A new and up-to-date 
book on this fascinating 
pastime. Edited by Mr. 
Louis Maxson of Wash- 
ington, D. C, ex-Na- 
tional champion. Con- 
tains a history of arch- 
ery from its revival as a 
pastime in the eighteenth 
century to the present 
time, with list of winners and scores 
of the English Grand championships 
from 1844; National Archery Associa- 
tion of the United States winners 
and scores; the several varieties of 
archery; instructions for shooting; 
how to select implements; how to 
score; and a great deal of interest- 
ing information on the game. Illus- 
trated. Price 10 cents. 




No. 138— Spalding's 
Croquet Guide 

Contains directions for 
playing, diagrams of im- 
portant strokes, descrip- 
tion of grounds, instruc- 
tions for the beginner, 
terms used in the game, 
and the official playing 
rules. Price 10 cents. 



Official 




«^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY /y^ 





No. 271— Spalding's Official 
Roaue Guide. 

The official publication 
of the National Roque 
Association of America. 
Edited by Prof. Charles 
Jacobus, ex-cham p i o n. 
Contains a description 
of the courts and their 
construction, diagrams 
of the field, illustra- 
tions, rules and valuable 
information. Price 10 cents. 



No. 194— Raca«ets, Sauash- 
Racawets and Court Ten- 
nis. 

The need of an au- 
thoritative handbook at 
a popular price on these 
games is filled by this 
book. How to play each 
game is thoroughly ex- 
plained, and all the dif- 
ficult strokes shown by 
special photo graphs 
taken especially for this 
book. Contains the official rules for 
each game, with photographs of 
well-known courts. Price 10 cents. 



No. 13— How to Play Hand 
Ball. 

By the world's cham- 
pion, Michael Egan, of 
Jersey City. This book 
has been rewritten and 
brought up to date in 
every particular. Every 
play is thoroughly 
plained by text and 
diagram. The numerous 
illustrations consist of 
full pages made from photographs of 
Champion Egan, showing him in all 
his characteristic attitudes. Price 
10 cents. 



No. 167— Q,uoits. 

By M. W. Deshong. 
The need of a book on 
this interesting game 
has been felt by many 
who wished to know the 
fine points and tricks 
used by the experts. 
Mr. Deshong explains 
them, with illustrations. 
BO that a novice can 
readily underetand. Price 10 cents 






No. 170— Push Ball. 

Played with an air- 
inflated ball 6 feet in 
diameter, weighing about 
50 pounds. A side con- 
sists of eleven men. 
This book contains the 
official rules and a 
sketch of the game; il- 
lustrated. Price 10 
cents. 



No. 14— Curlingf. 




A short history of 
this famous Scottish 
pastime, with instruc- 
tions for play, rules of 
the game, definitions of 
terms and diagrams of 
different shots. Price 
10 cents. 



No. 207— Bowling; on tlie 
Green; or, Lawn Bowels. 

How to construct a 
green ; necessary equip- 
ment; how to play the 
game, and the official 
rules as promulgated by 
the Scottish Bowling 
Association. Edited by 
James W. Greig. Illus- 
trated. Price 10 cents. 



No. 188— Lawn Games. 



Contains the rules for 
Lawn Hockey, Garden 
Hockey, Hand Tennis, 
Tether Tennis; also "Vol- 
ley Ball, Parlor Hockey, 
Badminton, Basket Goal. 
Price 10 cents. 



No. ISO- Children's Games. 





Compiled by Jessie H. 
Bancroft, director of 
physical training, depart- 
ment of education, New 
York City. These games 
are intended for use at 
recesses, and all but the 
team games have been 
adapted to large classes. 
Suitable for children 
from three to eight years 



^§^ 



and in- 



clude a great variety. Price 10 cts. 



<^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LmRARY/^T^ 




Group Xn. Athletics 

No. 12— Spalding's Official 
Athletic Almanac. 

Compiled by J. E. Sul- 
livan, Chief Department 
Physical Culture, Louis- 
iaua Purchase Exposi- 
tion, Director Olympic 
Games, 1904, Special 
Commissioner from the 
United States to the 
Olympic Games at Ath- 
ens, 1906, and President 
of the Amateur Athletic Union. The 
only annual publication now issued 
that contains a complete list of ama- 
teur best-on-records; complete inter- 
collegiate records; complete English 
records from 1866; swimming rec- 
ords; interscholastic records; Irish, 
Scotch, Continental, South African 
and Australasian records; important 
athletic events and numerous photos 
of individual athletes and leading 
athletic teams. Price 10 cents. 



No. 27— College Athletics. 

M. C. Murphy, the 
well-known athletic 
trainer, now with Penn- 
sylvania, the author of 
this book, has written it 
especially for the school- 
boy and college man, 
but it is invaluable for 
the athlete who wishes 
to excel in any branch 
of athletic sport. The subjects com- 
prise the following articles: Train- 
ing, starting, sprinting; how to train 
for the quarter, half, mile and longer 
distances; walking; high and broad 
jumping; hurdling; pole vaulting; 
throwing the hammer. It is profuse- 
ly illustrated with pictures of lead- 
ing athletes. Price 10 cents. 

No. 182— AU-Around Ath- 
letics. 

Gives in full the 
method of scoring the 
All-Around Cham p i o n 
ship, giving percentage 
tables showing what 
each man receives for 
each performance in 
each of the ten events. 
It contains as well in- 
structive articles on how 
to train for the All-Around Cham- 
pionship. Illustrated with many pic 
tures of champions in action and 
scores at all-around meets. Price 
10 cents. 







No. 15(j — Athlete's Gnide. 

How to become an 
athlete. It contains full 
instructions for the be- 
ginner, telling how to 
sprint, hurdle, jump and 
throw weights, general 
hints on training; in 
fact, this book is one 
of the most complete on 
the subject that has 
ever appeared. Special chapters con- 
tain valuable advice to beginners and 
important A. A. U. miles and their 
explanations, while the pictures com- 
prise many scenes of champions ia 
action. Price 10 cents. 

No. S7— Athletic Primer. 

Edited by James E. 
Sullivan, President of 
the Amateur Athletic 
Union. Tells how to or- 
ganize an athletic club, 
how to conduct an ath- 
letic meeting, and gives 
rules for the govern- 
ment of athletic meet- 
ings; contents also in- 
clude directions for building a track 
and laying out athletic grounds, and 
a very instructive article on train- 
ing; fully Illustrated with pictures of 
leading athletes. Price 10 cents. 

No. 273— The Olympic Games 
at Athens, 1906. 

A complete account of 
the Olvmpic Games of 
1906, at Athens, the 
greatest Internati o n a 1 
Athletic Contest ever 
held. Containing a short 
history of the games, 
story of the American 
team's trip and their | 
reception at Athens, 
complete list of starters in every 
event; winners, their times and dis- 
tances; the Stadium; list of winners 
in previous Olympic Games at Ath- 
ens, Paris and St. Louis, and a great 
deal of other interesting information. 
Compiled by J. E. Sullivan, Special 
Commissioner from the United States 
to the Olympic Games. Price 10 cts. 

No. 252— How to Sprint. 

A complete and de- 
tailed account of how to 
train for the short dis- 
tances. Every athlete 
who aspires to be a 
sprinter can study this 
book to advantage and 
gain useful knowledge. 
Price 10 cents. 





g^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LffiRARY/7^ 




No. 255— How to Run 100 
Yards. 

By J. W. Morton, the 
noted British champion. 
Written by Mr. Morton 
during his recent Amer- 
ican trip, in 1905, es- 
pecially for boys. Mr. 
Morton knows how to 
handle his subject, and 
his advice and direc- 
tions for atta i n i n g 
speed, will undoubtedly be of im- 
mense assistance to the great ma- 
jority of boys who halve to rely on 
printed instructions. Many of Mr. 
Morton's methods of training are 
novel to American athletes, but his 
success is the best tribute to their 
worth. Illustrated with photographs 
of Mr. Morton in action, taken es- 
pecially for this book in New York 
City. Price 10 cents. 

No. 174— Distance and Cross- 
country Running. 

By George Orton, the 
famous University of 
Pennsylvania runner. 
Tells how to become 
proficient at the quar- 
ter, half, mile, the 
longer distances, and 
c r o s s-country running 
and steeplechasing, with 
instructions for training 
and schedules to be observed when 
preparing for a contest. Illustrated 
with numerous pictures of leading 
athletes in action, with comments by 
the editor on the good and bad 
points shown. Price 10 cents. 

No. 246— Athletic Training 
for Sclioolljoys. 

This book is the most 
complete work of its 
kind yet attempted. The 
compiler is Geo. W. Or- 
ton, of the University 
of Pennsylvania, a fa- 
mous athlete himself 
and who is well quali- 
fied to give instructions 
to the beginner. Each 
the intercollegiate pro- 
gramme is treated of separately, 
both as regards method of training 
and form. By following the direc- 
tions given, the young athlete will 
be sure to benefit himself without the 
danger of overworking as many have 
done through ignorance, rendering 
themselves unfitted for their task 
when the day of competition arrived. 
Price 10 cents. 





event 





No. 259— Weiglit Throwing. 

By James S. Mitchel, 
Champion American 
weight thrower, and 
holder of American, 
Irish, British aad Cana- 
dian champio n s h i p s. 
Probably no other man 
in the world has had 
the varied and long ex- 
perience of James S. 
Mitchel in the weight throwing de- 
partment of athletics. The book is 
written in an instructive way, and 
gives valuable information not only 
for the novice, but for the expert as 
well. Illustrated. Price 10 cents. 

l\o. 55— Official SportinsT 
Rules. 

Contains rules not 
found in other publica- 
tions for the government 
of many sports; rules 
for wrestling, shuflle- 
board, suowshoeing, pro- 
fessional racing, pigeon 
flying, dog racing, pistol 
and revolver shooting, 
IJritish water polo rules, 
Rugby foot ball rules. Price 10 ct». 

ATHLETIC ArXILIARIES. 

No. 241— Official Handbook 
of the A.A.U. 

The A.A.U. is the 

governing body of ath- 
letes in the United 
States of America, and 
all games must be held 
under its rules, which 
are exclusively published 
in this handbook, and a 
copy should be in the 
hands of every athlete 
and every club officer in America. 
This book contains the official rules 
for running, jumping, weight throw- 
ing, hurdling, pole vaulting, swim- 
ming, boxing, wrestling, etc. Price 
10 cents. 

No. 217— Olympic Handbook. 

Compiled by J. E. Sul- 
livan. Chief Department 
Physical Culture, Louis- 
iana Purchase Exposi- 
tion, and Director Olym- 
pic Games. 1904. Con- 
tains a complete report 
of the Olympic Games 
of 1904, with list of 
records and pictures of 
hundreds of athletes; also reports of 
the games of 1896 and 1900. Price 
10 cents. 





g^ \ SPALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY/ 7^ 





No. 29S— Official Intercolle- 
£^iate A.A.A.A. Handbook. 

Contains constitution, 
by-laws, laws of ath- 
letics and rules to gov- 
ern the awarding of the 
championship cup of the 
Intercollegiate Athletic 
Association of Amateur 
Athletes of America, 
the governing body in 
college athletics. Con- 
tains ofBcial intercollegiate records 
from 1876 to date, with the winner's 
name and time in each event, list of 
points won by each college, and list 
of officers of the association from 
1889. Price 10 cents. 

No. 245— Official Y.M.C.A. 
Handbook. 

Edited by G. T. Hep- 
bron, the well-known 
athletic authority. It 
contains the official rules 
governing all sports un- 
der the jurisdiction of 
the Y.M.C.A., a com- 
plete report of the 
physical directors' con- 
ference, official Y.M.C.A. 
scoring tables, pentathlon rules, many 
pictures of the leading Y.M.C.A. 
athletes of the country; official Y.M. 
C.A. athletic rules, constitution and 
by-laws of the Athletic League of 
Y.M.C.A., all-around indoor test, vol- 
ley ball rules; illustrated. Price 10 
cents. 

No. 281— Official Handbook 
of tlie Pnblic Scbools 
Athletic Leagrue. 

This is the official 
handbook of the Public 
Schools Athletic League, 
which embraces all the 
public schools of Greater 
New York. It contains 
the official rules that 
govern all the contests 
of the league, and con- 
stitution, by-laws and 
officers. Edited by Dr. Luther Hal- 
sey Gulick, superintendent of phy- 
sical education in the New York 
public schools. Illustrated. Price 
10 cents. 

No. 274— Intercol- 
legiate Cross 
Conntry Hand- 
book. 
Contains constitution 
and by-laws, list of of- 
ficers, and records of the 
association. Price 10 
cents. 






Group Xm. Athletic 
Accomplishments 

No. 177— How to Swim. 

By J. H. Sterrett, a 
leading American swim- 
ming authority. The in- 
structions will interest 
the expert as well as the 
novice; the illustrationa 
were made from photo- 
giaphs especially posed, 
showing the swimmer in 
clear water; a valuable 
feature is the series of "land drill" 
exercises for the beginner, which is 
Illustrated by many drawings. The 
contents comprise: A plea for educa- 
tion in swimming; swimming as an 
exercise and for development; land 
drill exercises; plain swimming; best 
methods of learning; the breast 
stroke, etc etc Price 10 cents. 

No. 29tj — Speed STvininiing. 

By Champion C. M. 
Daniels of the New 
York Athletic Club team, 
holder of numerous 
American records, and 
the best swimmer in 
America qualified to 
write on the subject. 
Any boy should be able 
to increase his speed in 
the water after reading Champion 
Daniels' instructions on the subject. 
Price 10 cents. 

No. 128— How to Row. 

By E. J. Giannini, of 
the New York A. C, 
one of America's most 
famous amateur oars- 
men and champi o n s. 
This book will instruct 
any one who is a lover 
of rowing how to be- 
come an expert. It is 
fully illustrated, show- 
ing how to hold the oars, the finish 
of the stroke and other information 
that will prove valuable to the be- 
ginner. Price 10 cents. 

No. 23— Canoeingr. 

Paddling, sailing, 
cruising and racing ca- 
noes and their uses; 
with hints on rig and 
management; the choice 
of a canoe; sailing ca- 
noes; racing regula- 
tions; canoe i n g and 
camping. Fully illus- 
trated. Price 10 cents. 






g^ \SPALDING ATHLETIC LffiRARY /T^ 




Roller -^4^ 



No. 309— How to Become a 
Skater. 

Contains advice for be- 
ginners; how to become 
a figure skater thorough- 
ly explained, with many 
diagrams showing how 
to do all the different 
tricks of the best figure 
skaters. Illustrated with 
pictures of prominent 
skaters and numerous 
diagrams. Price 10 cents. 

No. 283- Official Roller 
Skating Guide. 

Contains directions for 
becoming proficient as a 
fancy and trick roller 
skater, and rules for 
roller skating. Pictures 
of prominent trick skat- 
ers in action. Price 10 
cents. 

No. 178— How to Train for 
Bicycling. 

Gives methods of the 
best riders when train- 
ing for long or short 
distance races; hints 
on training. Revised 
and up-to-date in every 
particular. Price 10 
cents. 

_ ^„^ Manly 
Group XIV. Sports 

No. 140— Wrestlingr. 

Catch as catch can 
style. By E. H. Hitch- 
cock, M.D., of Cornell, 
and R. F. Nelligan, of 
Amherst College. The 
book contains nearly 
seventy illustrations of 
the different holds, pho- 
tographed especially and 
so described that any- 
body who desires to become expert 
in wrestling can with little effort 
learn every one. Price 10 cents. 

No. 18— Fencing. 

By Dr. Edward Breck, 
of Boston, editor of the 
Swordsman, and a promi- 
nent amateur fencer. A 
book that has stood the 
test of time, and is uni- 
versally acknowledged to 
be a standard work. II 
Price 10 cents. 






lustra ted. 





No. 163— Boxing Guide. 

For many years books 
have been issued on the 
art of boxing, but it 
has remained for us to 
arrange a book that we 
think is sure to fill all 
demands. It contains 
over 70 pages of illus- 
trations showing all the 
latest blows, posed es- 
pecially for this book under the 
supervision of a well-known instruc- 
tor of lioxing. who makes a specialty 
of teaching and knows how to im- 
part his knowledge. Price 10 cents. 

No. 165— The Art of Fencing, 

This is a new book by 
Regis and Louis Senac, 
of New York, famous 
instructors and leading 
authorities on the sub- 
ject. Messrs. Senac give 
in detail how every 
move should be made, 
and tell it so clearly 
that anyone can follow 
the instructions. Price 10 cents. 

No. 236— How to Wrestle. 

^Yithout question the 
most complete and up- 
to-date book on wrest- 
ling that has ever been 
printed. Edited by F. 
R. Toombs, and devoted 
principally to special 
poses and illustrations 
by George H a c k e n- 
schmidt, the "Russian 

Lion." Price 10 cents. 

No. 102— Ground Tumbling. 
By Prof. Henry Walter 

Worth, who was for 

years physical director 

of the Armour Institute 

of Technology. A n y 

boy, by reading this 

book and following the 

instructions, can become 

proficient. Price 10 cents. 

No. 380— Tumbling: for Ama- 
teurs, rpjjjg i^^Q^ ^.gg special- 
ly compiled for the use 
of amateurs by Dr. 
James T. Gwathmey, 
director of the Vander- 
bilt University Gymnas- 
ium, Nashville, Tenn. 
Every variety of the pas- 
time is explained by 
text and pictures, the 

latter forming a very important fea- 
ture of the book, over 100 different 

Dositions being shown. Price 10 eta, 






g^SFALDING ATHLETIC LIBRARY /r' 







No. 191— How to Puncli tlie 

®**^* By W. H. Rothwell 

("Young Corbett"). This 
book is undoubtedly the 
best treatise on bag 
punching that has ever 
been printed. Every va- 
riety of blow used in 
training is shown and 
explained. The pictures 
c o m p rise thirty-three 
full page reproductions of Young 
Corbett as he appears while at work 
in his training quarters. The photo- 
graphs were taken by our special ar- 
tist and cannot be seen in any other 
publication. Fancy bag punching is 
treated by a well-known theatrical 
bag puncher, who shows the latest 
tricks. Price 10 cents. 

No. 143 — Indian Clubs and 
Dnnib-Bells. 

Two of the most pop- 
ular forms of home or 
gymnasium exe r c i s e. 
This book is written by 
A m e r i ca's amateur 
champion club swinger, 
J. H. Dougherty. It is 
clearly illustrated, by 
which any novice can 
become an expert. Price 10 cents. 

No. 166— How to Swing In- 
dian Clubs. 



By Prof. E. B. War- 
man, the well-known ex- 
ponent of physical cul- 
ture. By following the 
directions carefully any- 
one can become an ex- 
pert. Price 10 cents. 



No. 200— Dumb-Bells. 

This is undoubtedly 
the best work on dumb- 
bells that has ever bei-n 
offered. The author, 
Mr. G. Bojus. was for- 
merly superintendent of 
physical culture in the 
Elizabeth (N. J.) public 
schools, instructor at 
Columbia University (New 
York), instructor for four years at 
the Columbia summer school and is 
now proprietor of the Park Place 
Gymnasium, at 14 Park Place, New 
York City. The book contains 200 
photographs of all the various exer- 
cises with the instructions in large, 
readable type. It should be in the 
hands of every teacher and pupil of 
physical culture, and is invaluable 
for home exercise. Price 10 cents. 





SPALDINC^S 



No. 262— Medicine Ball Ex- 
ercises. 

This book is not a 
technical treatise, but a 
series of plain and prac- 
tical exercises with the 
medicine ball, suitable 
for boys and girls, busi- 
ness and professional 
men, in and out of gym- 
nasium. Lengthy ex- 
planation and technical 
nomenclature have been avoided and 
illustrations used instead. The exer- 
cises are fascinating and atti-active, 
and avoid any semblance of drud- 
gery. Edited by W. J. Cromie, 
physical director Germantown (Pa.) 
Y.M.C.A. Price 10 cents. 

No. 29— Pulley W^eigrht Exer- 
cises. 

By Dr. Henry S. An- 
derson, instructor in 
heavy gymnastics Yale 
gymnasium, Ander son 
Normal School, Chautau- 
qua University. In con- 
Junction with a chest 
machine anyone with 
this book can become 
perfectly developed Price 10 cents. 

No. 233— Jiu Jitsu. 

A complete description 
of this famous Japanese 
system of self-defence. 
Each move thoroughly 
explained and illustrat- 
ed with numerous full- 
page pictures of Messrs. i 
A. Minami and K. Ko- 1 
yama, two of the most 
famous exponents of the 
art of Jiu Jitsu, who posed espe- 
cially for this book. Be sure and 
ask for the Spalding Athletic Library 
book on Jiu Jitsu. Price 10 cents. 





Group XV. 



Gymnastics 



No. 104— Tbe Grading of 
Gymnastic Exercises. 

By G. M. Martin, I 
Physical Director of the 
Y. M. C. A. of Youngs- 
town, Ohio. It is a 
book that should be in 
the hands of every phy- 
sical director of the 
Y. M. C. A., school, 
club, college, etc. Price 10 cents. 




^S;^ SPALDING ATHLETIC LffiRARY/T^ 





No. 214— Graded Calisthen- 
ics and Dumb-Bell Drills. 

By Albert B. Weg- 
ener, Physical Director 
Y. M. C. A., Rochester, 
N. Y. Ever since graded 
apparatus work has 
•en used in gymnas- 
cs, the necessity of 
having a mass drill that 
would harmonize with it 
has been felt. For years 
it has been the established custom in 
most gymnasiums of memorizing a 
set drill, never varied from one 
year's end to the other. Conse- 
quently the beginner was given the 
same kind and amount as the older 
member. With a view to giving uni- 
formity the present treatise is at- 
tempted. Price 10 cents. 



No. 254 — Barnjnm 
Bar Bell Drill. 

Edited by Dr. R. Tait 
McKenzie, Director Phy- 
sical Training, Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania. 
Profusely illustr a t e d. 
Price 10 cents. 



No. 158— Indoor and Ontdoor 
Gymnastic Games. 

Without question one 
of the best books of its 
kind ever published. 
Compiled by Prof. A. M. 
Chesley, the well-known 
Y, M. C. A. physical di- 
rector. It is a book 
that will prove valuable 
to indoor and outdoor 
g y m nasiums. schools 
outings and gatherings where there 
are a number to be amused. The 
games described comprise a list of 
120, divided into several groups 
Price 10 cents. 

No. 124 — Ho-tv to Become a 
r" Gymnast. 

By Robert Stoll, of 
the New York A. C, the 
American champion on 
the flving rings from 
1885 to 1892. Any boy 
•who frequents a gym- 
nasium can easily fol- 
low the illustrations and 
Instructions in this book 
and with a little prac- 
tice become proficient on the hori- 
zontal and parallel bars, the trapeze 
or the "horse." Price 10 cents. 





No. 287- Fancy Dnmb Bell 
and Marcliing Drills. 

By W. J. Cromie, 
Physical Director Ger- 
mantown (Pa.) Y.M. 
C.A. The author says: 
All concede that games 
and recreative exercises 
during the adolescent 
period are preferable to 
set drills and monoton- 
ous movements. If we "" 
can introduce this game-and-play 
element in our gymnastic exercises, 
then dumb bells will cease to l>e the 
boy's nightmare, and he will look 
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Group XVL 



Physical 
Culture 






No. 161— Ten Minntes' Exer- 
cise for Busy Men. 

________^_ By Dr. Luther Halsey 

Gulick, Director of Phy- 
sical Training in the 
New York public schools. 
Anyone who is looking 
for a concise and com- 
plete course of physical 
education at home would 
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minutes' work as directed in exercise 
anyone can follow. It already has 
had a large sale and has been highly 
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lowed its instructions. Price 10 cts. 

No, 20S— Physical Education 
and Hygiene. 

This is the fifth of 
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series, by Prof. E. B. 
Warman (see Nos. 142, 
149, 166, 185, 213, 261, 
290). A glance at the 
contents will show the 
variety of subjects: Chap- 
ter I — Basic principles; 
longevity. Chapter II — 
Hints on eating; food values; the 
uses of salt. Chapter III — Medicinal 
value of certain foods. Chapter IV — • 
The efficacy of sugar; sugar, food 
for muscular work; eating for 
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Chapter V — Digestibility; bread; ap- 
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Price 10 centsi. 




g^ SPALDING ATHLETIC imRARY/^ 






No. 149— The Care of the Body. 

BSffSBBI A book that all who 
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No. 142— Physical Training 
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By Prof. E. B. War- 
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Is a complete, thorough 
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No. 185— Health Hints. 

By Prof. E.IB. Warman, 
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No. 213— 285 Health Answers. 

By Prof. E. B. Warman. 
Contents: Necess i t y 
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No. 238— Mnscle Building. 

By Dr. L. H. Gulick, 
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No. 234— School Tactics and 
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Edited by Dr. Luther 

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By Prof. E. B. War- 
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No. 288— Indigestion Treated 
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By W. J. Cromie, 
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No. 290— Get "Well; 
Well. 

This is a series of 
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Keep 





A. G. SPALDING. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY 
GROUP I.. No. 202 



HOW TO PLAY 
BASE BALL 



NEW EDITION 



WRITTEN BY 



TIM MURNANE 



published by the 
American Sports Publishing Company 

21 warren street, new YORK 



• V 



A 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Cooies Received 

JUN 14 190f 

/Cepyrieht ErvUv 

OLASS CXxXc, No. 

/79S-3J 

COPY B. / 



Copyright, 1907 

BY 

American Sports Publishing CoMPAinr 
New York 











PAGE 


Preface . ..."'.■. . . 5 


Introduction . . '. 








7 


The Art of Pitching . 








23 


The Catching Department. 








3S 


The Infield of a Ball Team 








39 


Playing the Outfield 








49 


The Fine Art of Batting . 








53 


The Art of Base-Running . 








59 


The Squeeze Play . 


- 






67 


The Delayed Steal . 








69 


The Art of Throwing 








71 


The Use of Signals 








73 


Short Talks on a Variety of Base Ball Topics 




75 


Spalding's Simplified Base Ball I 


lules 






92 




T. H. MURNANE, 
The editor of this book, was a famous old-time ball player, and is 
now one of the leading authorities on the game ; is sporting editor 
of the Boston "Globe," President of the New England League, and 
member of the Board of Arbitration of the National Association of 
Professional Base Ball Leagues. 



PREFACE 

Twelve years an active player, and for the last nineteen years. 
a reporter of major league games for the daily press, should 
place one in a position to tell the real from the counterfeit in 
Base Ball. 

I claim no man is in a position to compare the present with 
the past if he has not witnessed the games of ten and twenty 
years ago, at a time when the great developers of the game 
were in their prime, and when the real genius was prominent. 

I will endeavor to show how the game should be played to- 
gain the greatest success for the club, and not the individual, 
for a team of stars would not be successful in a season's cam- 
paign against an inferior team, pulling together and handled 
intelligently. 

By carefully noting the playing of the major league stars and 
winning combinations I have learned valuable lessons during the 
past season, for there are ever some new combinations being 
developed on the ball field. 

Beside carefully noting the points I thought might be valuable 
for this little work, I have quoted the best I could find from 
the experience of some great pla3^ers. All aimed to give the 
reader a thorough knowledge of the playing of the game from 
winning angles. 

I have taken special pains to note the work of the successful 
pitchers, the clever batsmen, the run getters and the work of 
superior infielders. 

One chapter is devoted to the disturbing element of the game 
and is just as important as any other for a team trying to gain 
a high position in the race. 

The descriptions of the plays have been given in an off-hand 
manner, as the ball player as well as the fan seldom enjoys Base 
Ball screeds or stories dished up in pure English, without the 
trimmings. I fully believe this book will prove more interesting, 
to my readers than even the previous number. 

All that I claim for this little book is originality. 

T. H. M. 



INTRODUCTION 

The fundamental principles of Base Ball are as follows : 

First. 
The selection of players for nine different positions. 

Second. 
Individual and team training. 

Third. 
Perfect harmony and physical condition. 

Fourth. 
A thorough study of your opponents' style of play. 

Fifth. 
Adapting old plays and developing new ones. 

Sixth. 
A keen sense as to when to take long chances. 

Seventh. 
Playing the gam.e until the last man is out. 

Eighth. 
Placing authority with capable leaders. 

Ninth. 
Showing proper courtesy to opponents and officials. 

Tenth. 
With heart and head in the work and a disposition to prac- 
tice vigorously. 



In selecting the different candidates for the nine positions of 
a ball team I would pick a catcher with good range, an accurate 
thrower from any position, a cool-headed man, who would note 
every move on the field, and one who would work well with his 
pitchers. It requires a heady man behind the bat, as the catcher 
is the one who must steer the game. Right-hand throwers are 
necessary and men who can stand hard work preferred. 




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SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 9 

For pitchers I would pick out men who could field their posi- 
tion well and the next requirement would be control of the ball. 
Pitchers come in all sizes. Therefore the only extra work would 
be in covering ground around the front yard and the speed to 
get to first base. Pitchers must be more than automatons to 
hold their own in fast company at the present time. 

I would pick a tall, rangy player for first base, a man who 
had a natural gift for taking pickups ; a left-hand thrower would 
be my choice, as they are in a position to throw to the other 
bases after picking up a grounder. 

I would pick a medium-sized, well-built player for second base. 

For third base I would select a medium-sized player with a 
good range and a strong arm, who could throw from any posi- 
tion, both over and underhand. 

For shortstop I would have a medium-sized man who could 
get over ground quickly and, being close to the turf, would be 
more perfect on ground balls than a larger player. 

In the outfield I would pick out all left-hand hitters and right- 
hand throwers ; men who were fast runners preferred. 

Individual training should consist of batting practice, bunting 
to third and first, with both right and left-hand pitchers in the 
box ; place hitting and cutting away for a long drive. Each 
player would practice base-running, and endeavor to evade being 
touched out when near a base. 

In running to first base on a long drive to the outfield each 
player should turn first base on the run, heading for second 
base, and return when it was evident the ball was intercepted 
by the fielder. If fumbled, the runner would keep on to second. 
If the ball was thrown to first, move to second instead of trying 
to get back to first, as the ball would have to be handled per- 
fectly to get the runner once out of four times. 

For field practice I would hit grounders to the outfielders at 
short range, as well as practice on long flies ; in fact, most out- 
fielders practice too little on ground balls, waiting to have the 
ball come to them, when the proper play is to come in and meet 
the grounder, keeping the ball well In front, and taking chances 
by trapping the ball before it rises for a sneak bound. 

The aggressive team always wins in Base Ball, just as the 
best batsmen step into the ball when pitched, while the weak 
batsmen pull away. 

College men are far ahead of professionals in sizing up their 
opponents. They go as far as keeping a record of each batsman^ 
and each player is coached in the style of ball and to what field 
each opponent is likely to hit and the pitcher is supposed to 
work his man according to the information furnished by some 
expert, who has followed the other fellow for several games. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. U 

The development of team playing takes continual practice and 
a natural leader; then it is up to the skill and heart of the 
players. 

High class players figure out the percentage of chances from 
experience. Where the hitting is light the base-runners must 
take long chances ; where the score is close they must also take 
long chances. When in the lead it pays to be conservative, but 
when making an up-hill fight long chances should be taken with 
the batting, and base-running must be played for a certainty. 
The catcher mast be a judge of when a base-runner will take 
a chance, and then work with his pitcher. The pitcher must 
call the turn when a batsman intends to bunt-hit for the base- 
runner as well as when laying for a long drive. The first- 
baseman should call the turn on the batsman, to be in shape to 
make a play to the other bases. The shortstop and second- 
baseman should size up the batsman and runner when out for 
the hit-and-run game and be careful not to leave an opening. 
The great men of these positions never move until sure the ball 
will not be hit at when they start for the base and who are 
capable of taking a sharp throw from the catcher under a full 
headway. In this style of work all catchers must be well 
trained to throw dead over second between knee high and the 
shoulder to get a fast man. 

Third base is the most difficult position on a ball field at the 
present time, as one must be in for the bunts and back for the 
hard drives. The third-baseman should take every grounder 
that he can get his hands on and must be equally sure with 
either hand, as the wide grounders to his left must be picked 
up on the run with one hand as well as the slow bunts that 
must be thrown with the same hand that picked them up. 

I would always insist on perfect harmony, and where it was 
evident that a player failed to fit in nicely with his fellow players 
I would make a change even were I forced to take a weaker 
but more pliable man. I would keep a close watch on the 
players and note their physical condition daily, and when out of 
condition would not insist on their working, prefering to save 
the good men for another time when they would have more 
heart for their work and inspire the other players. 

I would engage a club physician that would make a thorough 
examination of each man at least monthly and give the manage- 
ment an honest report. Ball players must be in fine condition 
to go through a season and do their best work. Players who 
would refuse to keep in shape would be marked for the ex- 
change list at once, as harmony and condition are absolutely 
necessary tO' keep to the front. 

It should be the duty of the captain and manager of a team 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 13 

to Study the work of each opponent, and then talk the matter 
over with the other members of the team, mapping out a Hne of 
defence and also a line of attack, after discovering the weakness 
of the other teams. 

The plans should be concealed as much as possible, but so 
thoroughly understood and practiced that there will be no 
bungling. 

The aggressive end of the game must start with the pitcher 
and continue with the base-running and batting. The defence in 
Base Ball is in placing your men in a position to face the batted 
balls and in throwing. 

In developing plays for a team the standard moves cannot 
be passed up and must be perfected before undertaking new ones. 
New combination plays are scarce ; in fact, years often go by 
without a new one being introduced; still, the old plays, varied, 
will make considerable difference. A bunting team can be 
stopped by bringing the third-baseman up, thereby forcing the 
batsmen to hit out ; in this case the shortstop is forced to come 
around well towards third, playing a deep field to get the hard 
drives that would pass a third-baseman playing close in to stop 
bunting. In studying your opponent it is often necessary to 
make a move to draw him out and then change on the next play. 

The shortstop should make a point of covering third when 
the third-baseman goes in for a ground ball. The second-base- 
man should make a point of covering first base when the first- 
baseman goes in for a slow grounder, as the pitcher will very 
often interfere and fail to cover the base, as he would on a fast 
grounder blocked by the first-baseman. Covering first and third 
base by the second-baseman and shortstop has grown to be a 
very important factor in the winning of games. 

No play requires any more instinctive action than throwing to 
second by the third-baseman when looking for a force-out and 
often a double play. Sharp, but with medium speed, so the ball 
can be handled for a second throw. It has been the remarkable 
accuracy in this style of throwing that has made certain third- 
basemen extremely valuable to their teams. Collins, Bradley, 
Leach, Devlin, Lave Cross, Coughlin, Brain and Tannehill, in 
particular, of the present players, and Denney, Mulvey, Nash, 
Sutton, Whitney, McGraw, Burns and Ferguson of the retired 
stars, adding much to the development of the game by their all- 
round marvelous throwing. 

Outfielders should work together as if pulled by one string 
and receive a tip on just how the ball is to be delivered to the 
batsman. A strong outfield can make is very unpleasant for the 
heavy hitters. Less than ten per cent, of the players are place 
liitters and really know where the ball may go when they slug 



SPALDINCx'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 15 

and meet the ball. The other ninety per cent, will hit to either 
the right or left field, eight out of ten times, and their hits 
anticipated. The left-hand batsmen are the easiest to play for, 
as they usually drive short liners to left, and swing for long 
drives to right field, seldom meeting the ball for a long hit to 
center field. 

Where one run might win a game, with a runner at second, 
it pays to bring the outfield in close, to make a sure out at the 
plate should the batsman hit a grounder to the outfield ; all balls 
thrown to the home plate from the outfield should come in on 
a bound, two sharp bounds usually proving the surest way to 
get a runner, as the catcher can block his man as well as handle 
the ball. 

The difference between great ball teams and ordinary ones is 
the difference between quick thinking and stereotyped ball play- 
ing, or an actual negative condition when called on for brilliant 
work. 

Many players work on the feeling of opponents and often 
manage to attract their attention away from the work in hand. 
This is not good Base Ball and sooner or later will act like a 
boomerang on the man who drops low enough to use these 
methods to win ball games. Nagging the umpire is a losing 
game, and the player who treats the official with the most con- 
sideration is sure to get at least all that is coming to him in 
the long run and especially on the road. 

Some managers will work to worry the official in hopes that 
he will weaken and rather than be made a target, give the 
kicker a shade the best of it. The umpire, however, who will 
permit this line of attack is not fit for a berth in any Base Ball 
league. 

I have seen many games pulled out after two men were down 
in the ninth, and the best advice one could heed is, never quit 
until the last man is out. A team with a reputation for playing 
to the close will always worry their opponents, while the team 
looked on as "quitters" will go down by the sure line. When 
behind, keep working hard with the hope that luck will over- 
take you and your opportunity come before the day is over. The 
winning ball player must be a man of wholesale courage and 
saturated with the spirit of victory, even after many defeats. 

Luck plays a very important part in the game and \t is alrnost 
impossible to be successful unless the cards break just a little 
better than even for you. There is not a team game known to 
man, where luck plays as many pranks as in Base Ball. The 
fierce drive may go into a fielder's mitt, while the scratch hit 
will drop safe just over the heads of the infielder. In Base Ball 
you can force your luck by taking long chances and makmg 



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SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 17 

unlooked-for plays. The reputation of the players should never 
disconcert you, for good team work will discount a team of star 
players. 

Absolute authority should be placed in one person by the 
owners of a ball team and this person should be allowed to 
work out his own campaign from start to finish, for he might 
have a poor lot of players and be held responsible, when he 
would have made a success of proper talent. The leader of a 
ball team must be in close touch with his men, who must have 
their utmost confidence. The players must feel that their leader 
knows his little book and he must be a man of kind heart, but 
game to the core. The leader is everything in the game, and no 
team has an earthly chance without a natural born leader. 

The best of players often make weak leaders, as they fail to 
hold the admiration of the players. The leader of a ball team 
cannot afford to show that he must depend on others, but, after 
listening to all advice given, must select his own course, holding 
every player down to the rank of a private, for all must slide 
and soil their uniforms if they expect to win ball games. 

The field leader can often listen to good advice from some 
retired Base Ball man, or even fans will see faults in a ball 
team. A good listener counts for much, and Frank G. Selee, 
the very best listener the game has turned out, was the gainer, 
for he took mental notes and turned to advantage liberal sug- 
gestions. 

No leader can succeed who humiliates his players or allows 
anyone to abuse them in his presence. Players have their off 
days and the man who leads them to victory or defeat must 
always champion their cause, when attacked from the outside. 

It was Napoleon who said that he would rather fight an army 
of lions led by a deer than an army of deer led by a lion. 

It is all in the leader, and nowhere any more so than in Base 
Ball. 

As the greatest all-round leader the game ever produced I 
would pick President Charles A. Comiskey of the Chicago 
American League club. Comiskey is a leader of leaders, both 
on and off the ball field, setting a killing pace for all other as- 
pirants, but as modest as all great leaders should be. Comiskey 
gets the best out of every man by his clean-cut logic and kind 
treatment. 

I never could understand why professional ball players should 
try to injure each other, or, in fact, act other than friendly ta 
one another, for the moment a player is considered capable of 
tripping or spiking a fellow player, he is sure to receive many 
bumps himself. Strict attention to business by each player is 
the only lasting composition for a ball team. The teams, who 




The out-curve is produced usually by grasping the ball with the first 
two fingers and the thumb, with the back of the hand turned downward. 
The fingers are pressed firmly against the ball, which is gripped tight. The 
out-curve may be either fast or slow. 




The in-curve is pitched with a side-arm motion, the ball being released 
over the tips of the first two fingers, the arm being swept around with a 
lateral motion. Some pitchers throw an in-curve by grasping the ball 
with all four fingers and permitting it to slip over the tips. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 19 

win for a time by underhand methods, come to gnel, and are 
soon forgotten, while the clean-cut playing teams are a source 
of pleasure to their friends after they have passed up the game. 

Men of the Jim Collins and Lave Cross stamp have played 
phenomenal ball for years without doing a trick to which the 
most delicate .player could object, with the result that the 
players who would bother other basemen, would pass up the 
above-named two, as it was considered bad form to stretch a 
point with men of the above calibre. The result was that Collins 
and Cross played every game for years. 

Great ball players should never make a false move to win the 
most important game, and usually the great players are the 
cleanest kind of workmen. The day for tripping, holding and 
browbeating is gone, and let us hope forever. All men should 
be equal when they appear on a ball field, and nothing but their 
fair ball playing should go. 

It would not be a bad idea to pass laws preventing players 
from speaking to the umpires during a ball game, under a heavy 
penalty. The spectators keep an eye on the actions of the 
players and never make a protest until receiving their cue from 
the players. 

I would impress the players with the importance of satisfying 
the public who support the game so handsomely, by always 
showing a disposition to do their very best, for the public will 
stand for a team in hard luck if they only show they are in 
dead earnest every time they go out on the field. The public, 
too, are critical and are ever noting the physical condition of 
the players, and this should be an extra inducement for the boys 
to get in shape early and work to keep so all season. 

The man who makes Base Ball a profession should work 
morning as well as afternoon to perfect himself in the trade. 

Years ago, at Cleveland, a lot of star players went to the 
park every morning, but enjoyed the shade of the club house in 
preference to field work. There was one player more ambitious 
than the rest, who would go out and bat for hours at a time, 
with a crowd of boys fielding the ball. This young man met his 
fellow players several years later and reminded them of his 
practice work, remarking, "You are out of the game now, boys, 
while I am getting the money still." This rnan was Jesse 
Burkett, who led the National League several times, and who 
led the New England League last season, hitting the ball about 
as well as ever. He practiced while the others loafed and the 
result was that he is still getting the money, while they are down 
and out as far as Base Ball goes. 

Players should pay no attention to the spectators and play as 
if there was no music in the cheer or hiss of the fan. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 21 

Practice at the bat, practice fielding ground balls, practice 
fielding fly balls, practice at every opportunity, for there is 
many a great ball player who became so only through the hardest 
kind of practice. 

Put life into your practice work, and make plays even quicker 
than if playing in a game. Fast practice develops fast ball 
playing, and fast ball playing wins ball games. 

All ball parks should be furnished with batting nets. In this 
way the batter can pick up the ball and toss it back to the 
pitcher, doing away with a catcher. If a player is not an accu- 
rate thrower, practice will make him so. Throw at a target 
daily and practice throwing with the wrist and elbow, without 
any assistance from the shoulder. Snappy throwing from the 
wrist is easily developed by practice. 

Pitchers should never overdo the practice end of the game, as 
they get more than their share of work during the regular game. 

Catchers should practice throwing to second, covered and un- 
covered, and the outfielders should practice on ground balls and 
throwing in to the bases. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 23 



THE ART OF PITCHING 

It is usually the ambition of all ball players to be able to pitch 
a curve ball, and few great players have passed up a chance to 
become the regular pitcher of his team. There is a great fascina- 
tion about delivering a ball to a batsman, confined to certain 
limits, with an umpire to call balls and strikes, for the first 
essential in pitching is command of the ball in all the curves and 
shoots. 

Working a batsman is a fine art and comes after a full knowl- 
edge of the curves and up-to-date shoots that goes with a star 
boxman. 

Temperament is another essential to success, for a pitcher can 
worry himself into poor work, especially wdien he expects the 
umpire to see every ball as he sees them as they head for the 
plate. 

A pitcher who never fails to cover first base when the ball is 
hit in that direction practically becomes a tenth man for his 
team, as he allows the first-baseman to make running stops well 
to his right, and come in under full steam for slow ones, knowing 
that the pitcher will cover the base for the throw. 

This play requires constant practice, and when missed should 
go down as an error for the boxman. 

Pitchers should work hard to perfect their fielding to the right, 
as clever men will take advantage and bunt the ball in that 
direction. 

Two preliminary motions are necessary for a pitcher : The 
free off-hand swing, to loosen out and get momentum before 
cutting the ball to the plate, when there is no one at first or 
second base, and the short, snappy move, made before delivering 
the ball, with men on the bases. Each move requires almost as 
much practice as learning to curve the ball. 

The pitcher without a free, open action will soon tire and lose 
interest in his work, while the pitcher who can bring to bear the 
different parts of the body and go along with a free joint will 
prove a stayer. 

A pitcher must be resourceful and keep a close tab on the 
weakness of his opponents. 

Curve pitching was discovered and controlled for the first time 
on Jarvis Field, Cambridge, by Arthur Cummings, a Brooklyn 
amateur, in 1867, who proved that a ball sent spinning through 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 25 

the air would create a cushion and finally throw the sphere off 
a true course. Working on this theory, and often perhaps by 
accident, pitchers have discovered other curves and shoots, until 
no one man has mastered all the curves, and for this reason it is 
well to note what the different pitchers have to say about their 
styles since becoming successful. 

Tim Keefe was famous years ago, when a member of the 
original New York Giants, with a peculiar slow ball that no 
pitcher has been able to get since. Keefe held the ball well back 
in the hand and controlled the ball with the heel of his thumb, 
not allowing the fingers to touch the ball. It seemed utterly im- 
possible to control a ball in this manner, but Keefe did, and 
could hit a bull's eye nine times out of ten. It was a slow ball 
with a drop curve and started with a fast preliminary motion. 

Bobby Mathews in 1872 was the first to introduce a perfect 
raise curve. The raise used by McBride about the same time 
was the result of sending the ball with an underhand throw from 
close to the ground. Mathews made the ball spin like a top and 
come to a stop before rising as it came to the batsman and when 
not hit on the dead center. 

The raise curve was introduced by Harry McCormick with 
the Syracuse Stars of 1876. About this time Trickey Nichols 
of the New Haven club was pitching a most tantalizing drop 
ball. Later Rhines came along with a raise ball, copied later 
still by McGinnity. Mathews, Rhines and McGinnity are the only 
men ever known to get the proper effect on this style of de- 
livery. A fast ball with a jump was claimed by several pitchers, 
but worked by Charley Nichols, while with Boston, to better 
advantage than ever before. 

Charley Sweeney introduced the incurve, or fade away ball, 
while with Providence in 1884. The drop curve was effectively 
used by William Dineen and others within the last few years. 

A pitcher might have all the curves and the speed and yet 
be a poor workman unless he had control and used head work 
in feeding the batsman. 

The following advice by well-known pitchers is well worth 
considering: 

Mathewson : "No pitcher with a good assortment of curves 
should be required to play in more than two games a week. A 
great amount of tissue is broken down in the arm that does 
the work during the course of a game, and it takes a lot of time 
to rebuild it." 

Orth : "A pitcher should always keep on the lookout for a 
batter's weakness, for some fellows can kill one ball and are 
easy meat for another. The ones hardest to pitch to are those 
that hug the plate close and chop at a ball instead of swinging. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 27 

These fellows that stand back and swing hard are no trouble for 
a pitcher who keeps his eyes open to what is going on." 

Phillippe: "Learn the weaknesses of opposing batsmen and 
pitch accordingly. The successful pitcher knows exactly what 
the men who face him can not hit, and either pitches those balls 
to them or else tempts them with the kind they like, but keeps 
the latter so far from the plate that they cannot hit them safely, 
if at all." 

Orth : 'T early recognized the fact that if I desired to remain 
in the game I would have to resort to something different from 
throwing curves all the time. I soon found out that if I had the 
ability to send the balls where I wanted to and could acquire 
the ability to mix the balls up, that I would make the needed 
progress in acquiring the art of effectiveness, and command has 
always been my long suit from that time. 'Aim to put them 
where you want to.' That is my advice to young pitchers. Study 
your batsman. Do not make the mistake of trying to fool bats- 
men who will not hit unless you put them over. You just waste 
your strength on such. These men are good waiters and will 
just play for a base on balls from a wild pitcher. The range a 
pitcher has is considerable after all. He can put the balls high 
or low, in or out, as suits his fancy, working the corners ac- 
cording to the batsman." 

Phillippe: "The pitcher must have strength and endurance far 
be3^ond what is required of the other players. I think it a fair 
inference that the larger man is more likely to have the advan- 
tage in this respect. It is true there have been many notable 
lightweight pitchers, but how long did they last? Can the records 
of 'Bobby' JMathews or 'Brownie' Foreman be compared with that 
of 'Cy' Young? As a matter of fact, Mathews, the most famous 
lightweight pitcher in the history of the game, stood only forty- 
five feet from the plate, while the pitcher of to-dav must send 
the ball sixty feet. I venture the assertion that if Mathews were 
at his best to-day he would not last a week in any league. The 
work has become too hard for the lightweight, and I would not 
advise any young player, whose size places him in this class, to 
waste his time trying to become a pitcher. He may succeed for 
a time, but he cannot last well enough to take his regular turn in 
fast company." 

There is so much good sense in the above advice by Phillippe 
that I want to put him right. When Mathews was at his best the 
pitching distance was 50 feet and not 45, as stated by the Pitts- 
burg man, who probably never saw Mathews pitch a Base Ball. 
Mathews had a peculiar knack of pitching that made it easy 
for him to pitch every day. He had mystifying curves, fine speed 
and a change of pace. Then, working each man for the limit,. 




HOW BALL IS GRASPED FOR START OF THE "FADEAWAY.' 







^"""^ 


my/ 


: // 




\ '^''' 


,/ ■ y^---^ 




• x^ 




\ 



THE BALL LEAVING THE HAND AS IT GETS THE FINAL TWIST 
OF THE WRIST FOR THE "FADEAWAY." 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 2» 

Mathews would have no trouble in holding his own, and was. 
superior even to Mr. Phillippe, his critic. 

Mathewson : "For the 'fadeaway,' the ball is held very loosely 
at the tips of the fingers, the first two fingers being above the 
ball and the thumb below it. The arms are thrown high above 
the head, but when the pitching arm begins to start the horse- 
hide on its way the arm is brought out from the side of the 
body and raised to an angle of about 45 degrees. This motion 
is gone through so quickly, however, that it is practically im- 
possible for the batsman to detect the fact that he is going to get 
something very different from a drop curve. In the drop curve 
the arm descends straight down in front, but in the fade-away 
the motion of the arm from its position at an angle of 45 degrees 
is a small outward swing. When the arm gets in front of the 
pitcher just about on the level with his chin the hand is given 
a sharp twist inward, or to the left, which brings the back of the 
hand on top, and the loosely held ball, which is revolving from 
the rapid action of the arm, slips out sideways or off the second 
finger. At the same time there is a rotary motion given to the 
hand. When the ball leaves the hand the arm is so twisted that 
the palm of the hand faces outward." 

Mathewson is the only pitcher at the present time pitching the 
incurve or "fade-away" ball, as he calls it, although pitchers have 
tried in vain to master this curve for the last twenty years. 
Charley Sweeney, with the Providence club in 1884, struck out 
nineteen of the Boston players in a nine-inning game with this 
same ball. It was so trying on the arm, however, that he had 
to give it up. After the games for the world's championship in 
1905, Mathewson was forced to place his wrist in a plaster cast 
as the result of this style of pitching. Mathewson is a perfect 
build for pitching, with a long reach, long velvet fingers and a. 
good head for detail. He has perhaps mastered more curves than 
any other man in the business. It would be a waste of time for 
an ordinary pitcher to try to master the fade-away curve, and it 
will be a long time before we see another Mathewson on the 
ball field. 

Harry Howell : Howell declares that the thumb is the con- 
trolling element in the "spit" ball. "Wetting the ball where the 
two first fingers rest on it has the effect of making the ball leave 
the fingers first and the thumb last," says Howell. "You know,, 
when you pick up a ball to throw it you usually grasp it firmly 
with the two first fingers and thumb. If the ball is dry it 
naturally leaves the thumb first and the fingers last. But when 
you wet the ball in one spot it has a tendency to deflect the 
course, and the ball leaves the fingers first, passing over the 
thumb last. This is the whole mystery of the 'spit' ball. The 




MATHEWSON (NEW YORK NATIONAL) PREPARING FOR 
A SPEEDY INSHOOTo 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 81 

fingers have nothing to do with the curve. It is the thumb that 
acts as the propeller. I constantly use slippery elm to increase 
the flow of saliva, thus making it easy to throw the 'spit' ball." 

This is how Mathewson gets the drop curve ball. 'To deliver 
this ball the arms must be thrown high above the head," he 
says. "As "the pitching arm rapidly descends straight forward 
the arm is turned slightly outward, and when the arm is hori- 
zontal the hand is turned slightly outward and the snap, a hard 
•one, is given by the wrist, and the greater the snap the faster 
will be the curve. 

"In holding the ball the first two fingers are above it and the 
thumb below. The ball is held rather loosely. When the twist 
or snap of the wrist takes place at the moment of delivery the 
hand turns so that the thumb is on top of the ball and the first 
two fingers below it. A full arm swing is used. The body 
is bent far forward so that all the weight of the body is behind 
the ball, and as the arm descends with a mighty swing the 
weight of the body is shifted from right foot to the left. Under 
no circumstances use moisture when delivering this great puzzler 
to batsmen. On leaving the hand the ball travels in a straight 
line until just before it reaches the plate, when it breaks sharply 
downward in front of the batter. 

"As can be well guessed such a ball is a great strain on the 
muscles of the arm when delivered with all the power a pitcher 
possesses. Like all curves the ball can be used at varying speeds. 
When men are not on bases it is a fine ball to pitch if it is de- 
sired to make the batter send out a grounder that can be easily 
fielded. In fact, any curve can be used fast or slow with this 
purpose in view. 

"By not bringing the ball quite so high above the shoulder 
when starting to make the throw an outdrop can be attained. I 
seldom consider it necessary, however, to try the outdrop. It 
has less space in which to be called a fair ball when passing 
over the plate, and is therefore more risky. The regular drop 
curve has all the space between the batter's shoulders and knees 
to make the batter score a strike, while the outcurve has but 
the width of the plate." 

Frank Donahue says : "To get the outcurve, hold the ball 
tightly between the two first fingers and thumb, and swing the 
arm well out, snapping the wrist to make the ball spin as much 
as possible while turning the palm down." 

Vic Willis says : "The drop ball is the most trying one on the 
arm. I hold the ball between the two first fingers and thumb, 
and start the ball from as high a position as I can get, letting the 
ball slip off the index finger, while turning the palm of the hand 
down. By a double motion or snap of the elbow and wrist, I get 
the combination of drop and curve together." 




I'' -vv^^>"^-i' ~^:^'h 








^-1 , 




i 



BROWN (CHICAGO NATIONAL), THE MUCH DISCUSSED 
"THREE-FINGERED" PITCHER. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 33 

William Dineen says : ''The drop outcurve I find the most 
effective ball against right-handed batsmen; I hold the ball the 
same for every ball I pitch, but allow the drop ball to leave from 
the top of the second finger after bringing the hand down from 
the highest position I can get in a long swing and, by an extra 
move to effect the curve, get the drop curve, which I think is the 
most trying ball a pitcher can deliver. The drop, itself, is not so 
difificult, but the combination of drop curve requires a long reach 
and the gift of being competent to work all the curves and 
shoots." 

Cy Young says: "The jump ball can be produced only by great 
speed. The ball is thrown with a full arm swing right from the 
shoulder, and out from under the fingers, which are straightened 
out as the ball leaves for the bat. The idea is to get a jump on 
the ball just as it comes to the plate, nearly shoulder high." 

Jack Chesbro says : "The spit ball is worked entirely by the 
thumb. The saliva one puts on the ball does not affect its course 
in any way, but is put on the ball for the sole purpose of making 
the fingers slip off the ball first. Excepting the spit ball, every 
ball that goes from the pitcher leaves the fingers last. In throw- 
ing curves the fingers do the work. By wetting the ball it leaves 
the fingers first, and the thumb last, and the spit ball could be 
rightly called a thumb ball. It is not necessary to thoroughly wet 
the ball. All you need to do is to moisten it so as to remove 
the friction from the part of the ball the fingers cover, and 
which slides off the fingers." 

Plank, of the Athletics, says : "I study the batsman in every 
way; his position in the box, his general attitude, the way he 
holds his bat and any other individual characteristic he may have. 
These help the experienced pitcher to get a line on what may 
be the best ball to use. If he knows the batsman well, that may 
be of some use, but not necessarily so. A young pitcher entering 
a new league cannot know the batsmen like an old-timer, yet he 
must make good from the start to hold his position. He must 
depend entirely on what he can learn on the instant from the 
batters as they take their places in turn before him and the ability 
he has to make use of this information. A good catcher is a 
big help. He is right at the plate and can see the batsman better 
than the pitcher, and ought to know just what ball is likely to 
be most effective. I generally give my catcher the kind of ball 
he signs for, but use my own judgment as to how high or how 
near the batter to put it. I try to some extent to work corners — 
that is, to get the ball over, but keep away from the center of 
the plate — but when the batter is badly puzzled, or 'faded,' as we 
say, it is almost perfectly safe to put it anywhere so it goes 
•over." 




CHARLES A. BENDER, THE NOTED INDIAN PITCHER 
OF THE PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 35 



THE CATCHING DEPARTMENT 

Catchers should have a fine reach and be quick, accurate 
throwers from most any position they may happen to be when the 
ball is received. ; 

Without first-class catching no team has a chance these days, i 
for base-running will win over batting and a weak catcher will 
make easy base-stealing. 

Catchers should have nerve ; be ever cool and heady ; sign for 
the pitched balls and coach the infield and outfield. 

The catcher must be alive to every play on the board and is. 
usually the central figure. 

The big mitt has made possible enough catchers to go round 
as natural catchers are few and far apart. Nearly all must work 
with signs and have the ball handed when the base-runner is 
about to take a chance for second. 

Catchers should have signs with both first and third bases and 
often snap the ball to those points when the men are taking 
ground freely. Lou Criger of the Boston Americans has some- 
thing on any catcher that ever stood behind the plate and is al- 
ways in a position to throw, no matter what way he gets the 
ball. He catches season after season without ever meeting a 
serious accident and never complains of a lame arm. He is the 
living model to-day for all catchers. 

The advice he gives is worth reading: 

"A catcher who cannot throw swiftly and accurately to the 
bases is of little use to a team. He is called upon mostly to 
throw to second base, and it is this point of the diamond that 
he should cultivate his eye for distance and arm for the throw. 

"One of the most spectacular features of a game is the attempt 
of a base-runner to pilfer second base, and then the catcher has 
his work cut out for him in earnest, and the outcome of his 
effort to shut off the runner is awaited with expectation. 

"The catcher should have an understanding with his pitcher on 
what to expect when a runner reaches first base. If the base- 
runner is known for his stealing propensities and is likely to go 
down the catcher should signal for a wide ball that the batter will 
not try to reach. There must be no preliminary motions in the 
catcher's movements in his act of getting the ball away. It 
should be one continuous action from the instant the ball leaves 
the pitcher's hand. The throwing arm goes back with the ball 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 37 

and is hurled to the base without a hitch. The throw ought to 
be low and close to the base so that the second-baseman can put 
the ball on the runner without the least trouble. 

"To get runners off third and first base the catcher should use 
a snap throw in which the wrist develops its greatest power, as 
the play must be done with all the deception possible. It is a 
dangerous habit to throw to the bases indiscriminately and 
should be avoided as much as possible. Only the surest throwers 
should take chances to catch runners off the bases spoken of, 
as a misplay would result disastrously. 

"Oftentimes a pitcher's effectiveness is due to the good support 
that he receives from his catcher, who can by his ease and poise 
behind the plate influence the temperament of his boxman. 

"A catcher should make the reception of the ball look easy and 
not fight it, making unnecessary hard work for himself and put- 
ting any distress on his pitcher. 

"Young pitchers can be jollied along by an experienced catcher 
and the symptoms of stage fright made void by the proper treat- 
ment. 

"A catcher, can't be awkward and cover his position satisfac- 
torily, as he has much to perform in his territory which must 
be accepted at quick notice. In going after foul flies back of the 
plate he must get the direction of the ball as if by intuition and 
turn simultaneously, ridding himself of his mask, and be able to 
take the ball at any angle.' 



SPALDING S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 



THE INFIELD OF A BALL TEAM 

A tall, acfive man should be selected for first base, and while 
some rather medium-sized players have played a clever first base 
yet a man less than six feet in height is handicapped for want of 
reach in going after wide throws. 

On ground balls the smaller man is better, and for second base 
a player should be under five feet ten. about five feet seven 
being the ideal height for a second baseman. 

The shortstop should also be a medium-sized player, not over 
five feet ten at the most, while the third baseman should be 
perhaps from five feet nine up. The running plays at short and 
second base require great speed in action from all angles, and 
none but a small man has a chance to change positions while 
under full speed, although Lajoie and Wagner, two phenomenal 
players, are exceptions to the rule. 

The first-baseman must be able to field a ball as well as the 
other positions in the infield and must play the ball on the run. 
He should run in for every slow ball that comes into the left 
of the pitcher, while the pitcher covers first base. The first- 
baseman has a better chance to handle the ball as he is coming 
in, while the pitcher would be handicapped by trying to take the 
ball as he bent down running sideways. 

The first-baseman should go to his right for every ball that he 
can handle either to second or to first base. In all such cases- 
the pitcher or second-baseman should cover first base and the 
shortstop go to second base. 

The catching of a thrown ball is about the simplest work a 
first-baseman has to perform these days. 

Short, snappy underhand throwing is the proper thing for a 
player covering first base and continual getting rid of the ball 
after a catch will improve the speed of a player's work when the 
time comes for real action. 

A second-baseman should be able to throw both over and 
under-handed, as well as toss the ball both forward and back- 
handed, especially to second base, on a force play ; in fact, many 
plays have been made by scooping the ball on the dead run and 
landing it in the proper place. 

Shortstop is simply second base over again, as short must take 
throws and often play well into the third-baseman's territory 
for left-handed hitters, and in deep field for place hitters, so 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 41 

that the shortstop and second-basemen must work together like 
a machine. I beheve the shortstop has the most difficult position 
to fill to-day on a ball field, as he not only has to cover second 
base and back up third, but he has the longest throws to make. 

The third-baseman should play on the base line for all bats- 
men, keeping an eye out for the bunter and must call the turn 
as the batsman gets in shape to meet the ball. He must play 
nine-tenths of the bunt hits on the run with one hand, and 
throw accurately to first. A third-baseman should go for the 
ground balls hit to his left, regardless of the shortstop, playing 
the wide ones mostly with the left-hand and changing for the 
throw to first. 

Throwing to second for a force-out requires quick thought and 
accuracy, as the ball must be given to* the man covering the bag 
in such a way that he can swing and shoot it to first for a double 
play. It is not necessary to throw hard, but the ball should be on 
the way the instant it is picked up, with the knowledge that the 
base will be covered for the play. 

With a man at second figuring on a steal of third the short- 
stop should play rather close to the base and hold his man. 
This he must also do with a third-baseman looking for a bunt. 
A slow man at second will handicap the man who is trying to 
sacrifice, as the second-baseman will hold his man close to the 
bag, with the idea of having the ball fielded to third base for a 
force-out. With a clever catcher the basemen can often get men 
ofif the bases at important stages of the game. 

While clever basemen cannot be caught by trap work, two- 
thirds of the men who play ball are slow thinkers and need con- 
stant coaching to keep out of the pitfalls planned for their 
benefit. 

The double throw, with men at first and third, has been worked 
for a dozen or more years and is a lost art to most teams. Prac- 
tice will overcome trouble in this line of work. 

Judgment should be exercised in playing close up for the man 
at the plate. It often pays to let one man go and cut ofif what 
might develop into a bunch of runs for your opponent. For 
example, with the score two to nothing and the game well over 
it would be the proper play to let the run score and play for the 
batsman. There are times, too, when a double play would be the 
thing, and with a slow runner at the bat would be a fair chance 
to take (for you must take long chances at times) and it is 
simply a case of calling the turn, and calling it right from long 
experience and a knowledge of the men you are playing against. 

The following advice by well-known professionals is well worth 
repeating, and the poorest player can often add a wise sug- 
gestion : 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 4S 

"Excepting the pitcher and the catcher, no player on the field 
handles the ball so often in a game as the second-baseman. In 
only a small proportion of the number of times he gets the ball 
are there opportunities for making a put-out or an assist, but 
there is always a chance to make a costly error. He must, 
therefore, never relax his vigilance or lose his grip of the situa- 
tion. He must work in perfect harmony with the other men in 
the infield, and especially with the shortstop. To do this, he 
must make an intelligent study of his fellow-players and be thor- 
oughly familiar with their capabilities and their peculiarities. 
When a fast play is started there is no time for explanations 
either by word or sign, and every man who takes part in it must 
know as well what the others wnll do as what he will do him- 
self, and be governed accordingly. The number of possible plays 
on the ball field is not extraordinarily large, but the number of 
ways of making them is almost infinite. 

"It follows, then, that the second-baseman must at least be 
as fast on his feet and as quick a player as any other player. 
Besides having a knowledge of his fellow-players, he must be 
acquainted with his opponents so as to resort to the style of play 
most successful against them. Tricks which will work against 
one team fall flat when tried on another, and the way in which 
any play should be made must be decided by the circumstances 
of the moment. 

"Suppose, for example, there is a man on third and the ball is 
hit to me, but in such a way that I am obliged to run for it, 
either forward or sideways. If two men are not out, I should 
try, the ball being a ground hit, to catch the man at the plate, 
if there is a possible chance. Suppose, also, that the man who 
hit the ball is very fast, I must watch the ball, so as to be sure 
to get it, and, as I cannot watch the runners too, must make up 
my mind before I get it where I will throw it. To do the right 
thing, I must know how fast the runner at third is and how much 
of a lead he had when the ball was hit. I must consider how 
long it will take to get the ball to the catcher and how skillful 
the latter is in blocking off base-runners in a pinch. The stand- 
ing of the score and the time must be weighed. If the scoring 
•of a run by the opposition insures their winning the game, the 
play at the plate is the only one worth trying, whether there 
appears to be a chance of success or not. But if the game is 
young and I was sure the man at third would score, I would not 
hesitate to make sure of the man at first. The shortstop must 
back up third base like the second-baseman backs up first, play 
short left and middle field, and sometimes go out into foul ground 
for flies that neither the third-baseman nor the left fielder can 
get under. He must guard second base when that duty falls to 




Altrock 
Davis 

A GROUP OF CHICAGO AMERICANS. 



WLite 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 45 

him, help the pitcher to keep base-runners hugging the sack and 
watch the returns of the ball from the catcher to the pitcher. 
He must make the same close study of opposing batsmen and the 
base-runners that other players must make, and be guided by 
what he can learn. He cannot pick out a level spot and stand 
there all afternoon expecting the ball to come to him. Like the 
business man who wants trade, he must get out after it and 
change his position for every man who comes to bat. 

"While there is nothing certain about anything in Base Ball, 
random infield work is as bad as random pitching. The infielder 
should never make a move that does not mean something and 
represent a definite end. He should adopt the course dictated by 
his best judgment and then follow it out until there is a reason 
for making a change. He will not always be successful, but he 
must not be discouraged if the unexpected happens. 

"One of the problems for the third-baseman is the batter who 
can both lay the ball down and line it out. If he plays back too 
far the latter will invariably bunt. H he gets too far in, he is 
likely to have to face a hard drive, which will sorely test his 
courage first, and probably his endurance afterward. In the 
course of a season ever}' third-baseman makes a number of fine 
stops which would not have been made if he could have gotten 
his body out of the way in time. The best plan to pursue in 
such cases, in my opinion, is to take a middle course. Keep 
back close to the line running from second to third and six or 
eight feet from the foul line, the latter depending to some ex- 
tent both on the batter and the pitcher. Then, every time the 
pitcher delivers the ball, get on your tiptoes and be prepared to 
move instantly in any direction. Keep your eye on the batter, and 
if he is going to bunt you can discover his intention in time to 
be half way in to the plate, if you are fast on your feet, before 
the ball leaves his bat. If, on the other hand, you see he is about 
to swing hard on the ball, you can summon your powers of resist- 
ing the shock of a speedy drive. 

''All this sounds, perhaps, as if third base were the only posi- 
tion in the field and that all balls are knocked to the third-base- 
man. That is exactly my idea of how every player should feel 
during the game. He should always be expecting the ball to 
hit him, always be ready to receive it, and always have his mind 
made up as to what he will do with it when it does come. 

"Besides the foregoing, the third-baseman must be able to line 
the ball across the field swiftly and accurately. With the fast 
men of to-day 'arching' the ball over won't do. It must go on 
a line, and no time can be wasted in starting it. Like the first- 
baseman, the third-baseman has a large number of foul flies to 
look after, and to get them, as he should, fleetness of foot is 




1, Chauee; ::, Uiuwu; 3, Kliug; 4, Evei's; 5, Steinfeldt. 
A GROUP OF CHICAGO NATIONALS. 

Press Photo Co., N. Y. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 47 

indispensable. He must also know what to do with the ball 
after it is caught, and not let base-runners take advantage of 
such plays to advance. He should back up other positions when- 
ever possible and never overlook an opportunity to do anything 
that will benefit his team. 

"Two faults many young infielders (and some old ones, too) 
have are trying to throw the ball before they get it and losing 
their heads after making an error. The first is due to nervous- 
ness or over-anxiety, and requires constant effort and perhaps 
some coaching to overcome. Whatever effort is needed, this 
must be done, for nothing so interferes with heady, successful 
work as nervousness. As to errors, they are inseparable from 
infield work. If the field were a fioor, the bound of every ground 
ball could be determined exactly and the play be made with 
machine-like precision. As it is, a pebble, a tuft of grass or an 
inequality in the ground deflects the ball just when you are set 
for it, and it comes just where you were not expecting it and 
don't want it. You do your best to get it and often succeed, only 
to make a bad throw, because you are thrown out of position 
by the extra effort and the time is too short to take a brace before 
throwing. At other times you either miss the ball altogether or 
are unable to move your hand fast enough to do more than 
knock it down, and, as a result, get an error for what appeared 
to all but yourself an easy chance. The infielder must never 
let such things affect him. He must forget them at soon as they 
are past and go on as if nothing had happened. Go after every- 
thing, no matter how impossible it seems to you as well as every- 
body else. Once in a while it will take a Lucky bound into your 
hand, and if you don't let your surprise prevent you from taking 
advantage of the circumstances, you will probably be hailed as 
'the greatest ever' — until you make your next error. 

''Neither the manager nor the captain can win unless they have 
the co-operation of the players. To be successful the captain's 
efforts must at all times be reinforced and backed up by a good 
bunch of hustlers. He must infuse into his men, if they do not 
have it naturally, enthusiasm for their work and a do-or-die 
spirit. Lots of good players are naturally very quiet. They know 
what to do themselves, but cannot direct others not so well 
posted. Such men must be encouraged and advantage taken of 
their special abilities. The captain must welcome their aid and 
show that he appreciates it." 







1, Sbannou; 2, Devlin; 3, Ahuai,..; ., IwvM.uhan; 5, boymour. 



A GROUP OF NEW YORK NATIONALS. 

Piess Photo Co., N. Y. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 49 



PLAYING THE OUTFIELD 

No weak batsman should be worked in the outfield. More 
than one-half of the outfielders in the big leagues are left-hand 
hitters, while over two-thirds of the men are right-hand throwers. 

1 w^ould play the speediest man in center field and the slowest 
runner in left field. 

Fielders should work with signs and know^ just what the pitcher 
is to give the batsman, as this will enable him to be on the move 
in the right direction and often make catches that seemed im- 
possible when the ball was hit. 

Outfielders should never hold the ball a second, but cut it for 
the infield at once and give no chance to the base-runner to take 
advantage of slow work. 

Outfielders should practice taking the ball in a position to 
throw, and learn how to take a ball after a long run and turn. 

Outfielders should study the different batsmen closely. They 
should have an understanding with the infielders, as well as the 
players in the outfield. Once a player sings out "I have it," he 
should pay no attention to the other players, who should simply 
back up the man who first called out. 

The right fielder gets more flies out of his position and more 
fouls than does the left fielder. 

The right fielder must be ready to back up second base when- 
ever possible, and he must be ready to back up first base every 
time a throw^ is made to that sack from any of the infielders or 
from the catcher. 

There is a great chance for the young man with the quick- 
throwung to make a reputation for himself in right field. Many 
opportunities come to the right fielder to make unusual throws. 
I have seen many a fast base-runner thrown out at first base 
on what looked like a hit to the right field. 

That w^as accomplished because the right fielder was alert and 
ready to dash in to meet the ground ball as close to the- base 
lines as possible. 

The right fielder must be sure on ground balls. If there is any 
chance at all to get the runner at first after he makes what looks 
to be a hit the outfielder should be able to improve every oppor- 
tunity. 

The right fielder, like the center fielder and the left fielder, 
should be an excellent judge of all batters. After seeing a man 




^^^'fe 



•%, 



I, -^ 



t 



%.- 






/^ 




1— Joe McGitinity, the "Iron Man," 2— Luther Taylor. 3— Leon Ames. 
4-— George Wiltse. 

A GROUP OF ^EW YORK PITCHERS. 

Photos by Pictorial News Co. and Hedley, New York. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 51 

bat once he should know whether he is likely to hit in his di- 
rection. 

The right fielder should also be ready for every batter who 
comes to the plate. There is no way to tell when a man who 
nearly always hits toward the left is going to tear one toward the 
right field. 

The center fielder and the right fielder should have a signal 
fixed with the second baseman so that individual may be able 
to tell which one of the players is to take a fly that falls between 
them. Collisions may thus be avoided. 

When the second-baseman calls out the name of the outfielder 
who is to take the fly the other should stop on the instant and 
not insist upon taking it anyway. 

Only experience can tell the right fielder which way this or 
that batter is going to hit. This experience may be gained by 
himself in a few games, for he should always know where each 
batter usually hits. 

The right fielder should never go into a game without prac- 
ticing in his position. This is so he may become familiar with the 
grounds and with the direction and velocity of the wind. The 
wind is an important factor in all outfield playing. Unless the 
outfielder knows how it is blowing he is likely to be fooled badly 
the first time some batter knocks a fly toward him. 

Quick starting has much to do with success in getting to where 
the ball is. In order to be able to start quickly the outfielder 
must have a judgment so keen that it will tell him almost the 
square inch where the ball will fall. 

In playing the outfield, if Harry Bay. Keeler or Flick hap- 
pened to be on second base and a base hit was made to me and 
I fumbled the ball, there would be no use throwing to the plate to 
shut them ofi^, unless the pitcher or catcher should be wise enough 
to intercept the throw to catch the batsman should he try to go 
down to second on the throw in. With a slow runner on second, 
should you fumble the ball in the outfield, the chances are you 
could get your man at the plate on a good throw, but the main 
thing is to have the play figured out before you make it, then 
you can't go wrong. 







ROGER BRESNAHAN 
Catcher. 




FRANK 

BOWERMAN 

Catcher. 



DAN McGANN. 
First Base. 
THREE MEMBERS NEW YORK TEAM. 

Photos by Hedley ami Illustrated Outdoor News,N. 1. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 53 



THE FINE ART OF BATTING 

Batting is the one department of Base Ball where a boy or 
man must have a natural talent to make good. 

I have known of cases where a very ordinary batsman finished 
a season with a top-notch batting average, but the same player 
was sure to fall off the next season. 

The old saying that batsmen are born and not made comes very 
near being correct, although any player can improve by faithful 
practice and intelligent thought on the subject. 

Each player will have his own style at the plate, finding it 
easy to fall into some style unconsciously. He should be allowed 
to continue in this style unless there should be a semblance of 
pulling away from the plate, for only the aggressive batsman 
reach the top of his profession. 

It is a rare thing nowadays to see any man outside the battery 
players pull away from the plate. Once a pitcher notes this 
weakness he has his man at all times if he is careful. 

The preliminary swing of the pitcher is often likely to bother 
the timid batsman, for he will often lose track of the ball. The 
batsman should pay little attention to the pitcher until about the 
last move before sending the ball to the plate, when being ever- 
ready and in a natural position he can follow the course of the 
ball. 

I fully believe that all men can bat to better advantage while 
gripping the bat up short. 

All pitchers try to get a line on the batsman by noting their 
footwork and general attitude at the plate. 

"Cy" Seymour says : "Know your pitchers and keep close tab 
on the position of the fielders. I ascribe a large portion of my 
showing to the hit-and-run game. 

'T would give the runner on first base his signal for a steal 
and then aim to hit the ball through the shortstop's or second- 
baseman's position, according as the one or the other left it 
open to cover the bag and catch the runnci. 

"For that very reason I rarely or never seek to run forward 
past the plate and meet the ball before the curve breaks. By 
playing as far back of the plate as possible I get that much more 
time to be sure which infielder is going to cover second base. 
A large proportion of my base hits were made in this way . 




Lajoie Bernhardt 

Flick Stovall Turneu 

A GROUP OF CLEVELAND PLAYERS. 



SPALDING-S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. ^ 65 

'Then, again, I am not particular about using any special bat. 
For a pitcher who serves slow ones and uses his head I use 
a lighter bat, but when a pitcher relies mainly on speed I find a 
heavy bat more serviceable. 

"I don't grasp the bat at the end, because I find I can control 
it better and meet the ball more accurately by holding the bat 
a few inches from the end. Being able to place the ball in the 
various outfields helps a whole lot, for the fielders then are 
puzzled where to lay for you. And yet some good hitters, like 
Roy Thomas, almost always hit to the same field. 

"It's a mistake to try and slam the ball all your might. Hit it 
a good, solid lick, but you can do better inside work if you don't 
try to rip the cover off every time you swing at it." 

Seymour, like most batsmen, can be helped out by a good man 
ahead of them on the batting list, as a clever base-runner will 
keep the pitcher guessing and also keep the basemen on the 
alert, thereby creating more openings for safe hits through the 
infield. 

Slugging is of very little account under the advice of Mr. 
Seymour. 

I consider Clarence Beaumont one of the most scientific bats- 
men in the profession. Read what he says about getting out 
of form : 

"Good batters are often asked why it is that they occasionally 
have slumps during which they go for days without hitting 
safely. All of them meet with this experience at times. In my 
own case, which I suppose is largely the same with other players, 
the trouble comes from what we call getting out of stride. In 
hitting the ball, all good batters take a step forward. This 
step is called the stride. My stride is about eighteen inches. 
Suppose I unconsciously increase this stride to two feet. This 
looks like a small matter, but m reality the additional six inches 
causes me to lower my bat a trifle, with the result that I hit 
under the center of the ball, which sends it up in the air instead 
of out on a line as I intend. The eye has nothing to do with this. 
It is simply a habit which comes on the player before he is 
aware that he has contracted it. The remedy lies not in trying 
to accustom yourself to the new stride, for that you probably 
could never do successfully, but in getting back your old step. 
Constant practice is the only means of doing this, and it has 
sometimes taken me three weeks to overcome the trouble." 

Beaumont might go farther and say a batsman will often lose 
his best preliminary swing and come to the ball out of form to 
see it soar into the air when he has aimed at the dead center. 

Some good batsmen never take any preliminary swing, depend- 
ing wholly on footwork, while a number of batsmen take the 




Keeler Elberfield 

Chase Orth LaPorte 

A GROUP OP NEW YORK AMERICANS. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 57 

bat at the extreme end and take a long swing, usually cutting a 
triangle before swinging for the coming-in ball. Nothing is 
more graceful, but the tmiing of the swing must be absolutely 
perfect to win out, and a clever pitcher will be quick to see his 
advantage. 

Don't be afraid of the pitcher. It is easy to avoid being hit 
by a fast one and slow ones never injure any one. 

Men have been hit by pitched balls as the result of the pitcher 
sending in just the ball not expected after the batsman had 
figured that he was posted. A good bit of advice from a leading 
player is worth quoting. He says : 

"To the young player I would say: 'Don't get in the habit of 
planting your feet on the ground and not moving them until you 
have swung at the ball. Get a stride and advance a little toward 
the ball as you hit. Do not step too far and accustom your eyes 
and hands to the change such a step makes. Learn to hit squarely 
every ball that passes --over any part of the plate between the 
knee and shoulder, and devote the most practice to what you 
are weakest on. Learn to think and act quickly and to keep your 
head at all tim.es. I.n a contest, do not always do the same 
thing under the same circumstances. Give your opponent a sur- 
prise whenever possible." 

The above advice is well worth considering by the old player 
as well as the youngster. Step up and meet the ball ; it puts the 
pitcher on the defence and makes the other players feel they have 
a game player to handle, and nerve is half the battle in Base Ball. 

Always go to the plate to hit that ball in the center, no matter 
who the pitcher may be, for all can be found, as they must get the 
ball over that rubber ly inches wide. 

Another good "sticker" says : 

"If I were facing a pitcher who depended mainly on speed, 
I would stand at the back of the batter's box. so as to have the 
advantage of the additional distance. I would do this, particu- 
larly if I wished to hit toward third base. But if the same pitcher 
had a good drop ball I would stand at the front of the box so as 
to be able to catch the ball before the break. If the batter has 
a weakness and the pitcher is taking advantage of it, the former 
must use his judgment and cunning." 

The above is intended for left-hand batsmen and is sound and 
well worth heeding. 

Practice and confidence will make a batsman, and he must 
practice continually to do his best work, a^id practice against 
good pitching. Therefore, Praf^/V (7. ' Practice!! PRACTICE!!! 
until you know your own speed, and then keep on practicing with 
the stick. 




Waddell Schreck Davis Plank 

A GROUP OF PHILADELPHIA AMERICANS. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 



THE ART OF BASE-RUNNING 

Head work counts just as much as fleetness of foot after a 
player reaches first base, and nothing will bother a pitcher any 
' more than to know a clever man is ever ready to make a break 
for an extra base. It bothers the boxnian much more than the 
man at bat, and for this reason pitchers usually pitch their poorest 
games against a lot of fine base-runners. 

Once a player reaches first base it should be his aim to keep 
the battery guessing as to what move he intends to make. Tak- 
ing a lead off first should be the study of every ball player, and 
no man can expect to bother the pitcher or ever steal a base if 
he has failed to improve his many opportunities to take the proper 
lead off the three bases, for the lead means everything on the 
bases, as a start means success in making a play in the field. 
Every man that reached first base should be taught the funda- 
mental principles of base-running, including sliding to bases, as 
well as reaching the base from several feet away. Players allow 
the particular men who make a specialty of this department to 
have it all their own way, when every man should make the try. 

It should be a part of the early spring work, for there is 
nothing more disagreeable to clever ball players than to see some 
of their own men "wedded to the bags," as they say, or failing 
to take the proper ground off the bases, when runs are valuable 
and the opposition is primed to take advantage of a dead one 
on the bases. 

Players should practice starts from first in the spring and 
at other times when the opportunity affords. There is no danger 
of being caught while the pitcher stands with the ball in his 
left hand when pitching with his right. A running lead and 
quick return under these conditions will bother the players and 
in the general mixup the runner is more apt to call the turn and 
get the proper lead for second. Even if the runner never intends 
to go, he keeps his opponent's attention off the man at the bat 
and the runner has the advantage of changing to a hit-and-run 
game. 

The base-runner should have a perfect code of signals with 
the next batsman to know just when to tip off, and what action 
to take when the ball is pitched. Certainly the battery will keep 
up a deep thinking part and will often call the turn, but that is 




1, Wagiier; 2, (Jlurke; 3, Nealuii; 4, Gaiiley; 5, Leever. 
A GROUP OF PITTSBURG PLAYERS. 

Press Photo Co., N. Y, 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 61 

in the game, and the quickest thinker and best executer will land 
the money in the long run. 

Any ball player should know how to make the different slides. 
The feet-first slide leaves a runner in a position to regain his 
feet and be ofif for the next base if the ball is thrown wide, but 
the most difficult slide to block off is the wide head-first slide 
where the player reaches back and finds the base. 

Taking two bases on a ground ball to right or center .field 
should be accomplished three out of four times if the runner 
is on the alert against nine-tenths of the outfielders. 

Don't watch the ball, and pay no attention to anything but the 
base. Don't turn your head to look either sideways or behind, 
as it is bound to result in loss of speed; and he shouldn't slide 
unless his pants are properly padded. 

When you have got away you must judge the man on the sack, 
know how he stands and which way he turns. There is a way of 
twisting the body when you are going into the bag that brings 
you in feet first. Many times the man with the ball is there as 
soon as you are, but when he is ready to tag you, that twist will 
get a man out of danger. Some men have a habit of sliding 
to base head first, and some go in with their feet ahead of their 
body, but the way a man can duck and dodge, the twist I spoke 
of will save a speedy runner. Speed, judgment and ability to 
duck — these are the qualities that go to make up a successful 
base-stealer. 

Let a good base-runner get to first base at a critical juncture, 
and if the previous proceedings have been dull and lifeless, action 
is at once instilled into the game. The pitcher becomes anxious. 
A good base-runner will bother him and handicap him in his 
work. The pitcher will often work harder for the man on the 
base than he will for the batter, giving the latter a big advan- 
tage. The catcher knows the slightest slips he may make will 
be taken advantage of, and the infielders know that they will 
have to work fast and sure to foil the runner, and at the same 
time be prepared to handle infield hits. 

All this keys up the spectators to a high pitch, and causes 
them to watch every play with strict attention. The spectacular 
features of base-running have always been recognized. The start. 
a fielder's cry of "There he gees !" the throw, the cloud of dust 
and the close decision combine to make the play one of the most 
fascinating of the game. 

Men like Stovey, Welsh, Ewing, Latham, Ward, Fogarty and 
Kelly never knew what it was to stand anchored on the initial 
bag and wait for a bunt or a hit-and-run signal. For them 
there was a momeait's jockeying along the line, a sharp skirmish 
of wits and quickness, with the pitcher and first baseman, and 




.'. sparks; ;j, Duggleby; 4, Doolin; 5, Thomas; 6, Gleason. 
A GROUP OF PHILADELPHIA NATIONALS. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 63 

then a streak of light going down to second, a slide, a cloud of 
dust, and a frantic yell from the delighted crowd. 

"The big mitt stopped the runnels," said Dick Buckley, re- 
cently. How? Well, get a glove of the type used by catchers 
up to 1889, get a modern padded mitten, have somebody throw 
you a ball and it will all dawn on you in a second. When the 
old pitchers, firing from short distance and yet hurling them 
across with all their steam, sent them into the thin-palmed, 
finger-tipped glove of those days, the catcher always, and in- 
stinctively, drew back his hands as the bullet struck into the 
frail protection. Suppose a base-runner was under way, the 
catcher disengaged the ball from the glove and shot it down as 
fast as he knew how. After the big mitt arrived, the whole 
method of taking the pitch changed immediately. The catcher 
soon found that he could take the full shock of the fastest de- 
livery in the great paw and that he did not have to draw back 
his hands. What did this mean to the base-runner and to the 
catcher's chance of trapping him ! Only this — that the catcher, 
able to get the ball out of the big glove and ready for the throw 
in speedier time than when he wore the little glove, had just 
that much margin on the runner. And bases are made or lost by 
fractions of a second." 

The player on second should give the runner on first the sign 
that he intends to steal. This will enable the man on first to 
prepare for a double steal. It is practically impossible to make 
a double play in this case, and in the event of the first runner 
being caught at third there will be very little harm done, as the 
second base will still be occupied. 

With one man out it is always good policy to take chances in 
stealing third base, though, as it has already been pointed out, 
before attempting to steal, the player should be certain of a 
good start. He could then score on a long fly to the outfield. 

In a close game, where hitting is light, a player should take 
more than ordinary chances on the bases. A wild throw or a 
dropped ball by a baseman will give the runner the chance he 
may be watching for. No play can be cut and dried on the 
diamond, and the runners must be prepared for any emergency, 
ready to take advantage of any weakness on the part of their 
opponents, and sacrifice individual efforts for team work. 

Connie Mack gives a valuable hint on. base-running. Most 
base-runners touch the bags with the right foot. Mack's idea 
is to touch with the left foot, because you can keep the turn 
shorter that way. Mack's theory is the correct one. The distance 
around the bases, actual measurement, is 120 yards, but in mak- 
ing the circuit a runner will cover at least 128 yards. 




stone 



Wallace 



Howell Jones JN ilea 

A GROUP OF ST. LOUIS AMERICANS, 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 65 

There is nothing that will discourage one team and please 
another more than dumb base-running. It is far better to hold 
your base until batted around than to run the bases without 
judgment. 

As an example of this I will point to a play that took place 
in one of t-he games for the world's championship at Chicago in 
1906. Rohe was on third base, with one out, when Dougherty 
drove a fierce liner to deep right center that Schulte made a 
clever catch of and threw home in time to get Rohe at the 
plate. Thinking the ball was hit safely, Rohe started for home. 
Seeing that the ball w^as caught he returned to third, touched 
the base, and again started for home, to be disposed of. When 
he saw the ball hit to the outfield he should have returned with 
all haste to the base and been ready to start for home the in- 
stant the ball hit the fielder's hands. Had the ball been safe 
it was an easy matter to come in. If the ball was muffed it 
was also an easy matter. While if the ball was caught he could 
have beaten the throw home. Therefore, b}' dumb base-running, 
he lost one run and displayed the weakest kind of Base Ball. 
No brainy ball player could possibly have made this wicked 
blunder. 

There never was a good excuse offered for running another 
base-runner down. The base-runner nmst keep his eyes open, 
and look ahead. Some ordinary runners become expert base- 
runners by using good judgment, while some of the finest 
sprinters, lacking the temperament, fall easy prey to their oppo- 
nents, especially to clever catchers, and are noted for their dumb 
work on the base paths. 

Base-running is one department of the game that has not ad- 
vanced during the last twenty years, and the game is the loser, 
for there is no more picturesque feature than a team of "inside" 
base-runners in action. 




Schafer Donahue Coughlin Jones 

A GROUP OF DETROIT PLAYERS. 



Lindsay 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 67 



THE SQUEEZE PLAY 

This is the most up-to-date play used in Base Ball at the 
present time and a valuable addition to the science of the sport. 

The play is tried only with one out and a man at third base. 
The base-runner starts for home with the first preliminary swing 
of the pitcher's arm and tries for the plate, just as if making 
a steal. The batsman is supposed to meet the ball without 
any attempt for a hard drive, simply keeping the ball on the 
ground. If the ball is placed anywhere in fair territory there 
is no chance to get the runner going home; in fact, run- 
ners often score when the ball is pitched too wide for the bats- 
man to meet it. Then the catcher is apt to drop the ball in his 
hurry. The play is seldom attempted unless the batsman is a good 
bunter. Then, too, it is not a good thing to try the play when 
the pitcher is laying for you, as he will keep the ball high and 
close to the batsman and nip the man coming home. 

In close-score games the play is always favorably considered, 
and it is the unexpected that mystifies your opponent and rattles 
many a player. 

The slowest runner can make the play from third, as it all 
depends on the man at bat to meet the ball and keep it on the 
ground. 

In the number of times that I saw it tried last season, with 
the major league teams it was successful one-half the time, 
which was a percentage in favor of the play. But, like all moves 
in Base Ball, it requires good judgment in picking out the time 
to work the combination. When made, it has a demoralizing 
effect on the team who allowed it, while a failure has the same 
effect on the team to try it. No ball team, however, should be 
without the knowledge of the play, as well as a defence when 
others are apt to make the move. 




Patten Stahl Falkenberg 

Nill Cross Altizer 

A GROUP OF WASHINGTON PLAYERS. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 



THE DELAYED STEAL 

The delayed steal was worked last season as never before, 
until with several teams base-running became one of the most 
important parts of the game, and it required a clever catcher to 
stop it even with sharp, accurate throwing. Ever on the alert, 
the runner would take the limit of ground off first. A throw 
to first would see him off for second, where he would beat the 
throw five times out of six. Then, again, the runner would 
hold his ground until the catcher had started the ball back to 
the pitcher, when he would dart for second. As the second- 
baseman and shortstop were playing wide and deep, it was a 
race for the base with the pitcher hesitating as to who would 
take the ball, with the chances all in favor of the runner landing 
safe. This play was also tried — and successfully — with a man 
on third, the runner making home as the ball was thrown to 
second base. The delay in starting was sure to throw off the 
men who were picked to take the ball and while the basemen 
were sizing up the situation the base-runners were making 
ground on either or both ends of the play. 

A wideawake lot of players on the bases, willing to take a 
chance, will defeat a team of sluggers in a season's play. Base- 
running is the purest science of the game and the most pic- 
turesque department. The double steal, the delayed steal, and 
the steal when the hitting is light, is a hard game to beat, and 
especially so if the throwing is not above the average. 

With base-runners for opponents the strongest teams will have 
to keep a sharp lookout, for a fine base-runner is more dreaded 
when he comes to the bat, than the heaviest slugger in the 
business. Base-running has been overlooked by too many Base 
Ball managers of the present time. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 71 



THE ART OF THROWING 

A left-hand thrower is handicapped and should never attempt 
to play outside first base and the outfield. 

1 here was a time not long ago when overhand throwing was 
considered the proper style to cultivate. Now a player must be 
fit to throw underhanded, and even toss the ball backhanded, as 
well as to scoop the ball when there is no time for getting into 
a position to make a throw. 

When making a proper throw the hand should follow the ball. 
Snap throwing is a rare accomplishment and must be cultivated, 
while shoulder throwing is a big handicap to a ball player, as 
he is sure to lose time. The wrist, elbow and shoulder can all be 
used in making the ideal throw. The wrist and elbow properly 
developed will produce the best getaway throw, and should be 
practiced, particularly by outfielders. 

Left-handed throwing outfielders are impossibilities when 
forced to use the shoulder to get the ball away. It is a case of 
"winding up," to see the base-runners beating the throw nine 
out of ten times. 

In the outfield the players should practice continually to get 
the ball away, allowing the infielders to make plays from shorter 
distances. 

A clever man will swing into position to receive a ball before 
making a hard throw. No man can throw hard and accurately 
without taking a step forward before letting the ball go. One 
cf the finest throwers I ever saw was a young player with a 
lame shoulder who developed a wrist throw that was marvelous 
for speed and accuracy. 

Edward Crane, the greatest thrower for long distance the 
game has produced, never used his shoulder, when making a 
throw. In fact, the long distance throwers have never been 
what is known as shoulder throwers. About the only fine 
throwing catchers who used the shoulder have been Charley 
Bennett and Lou Criger, while the great catchers, Kling. Kelly. 
Ewing, Snyder, Sullivan, Clapp, Bergen and other good ones, 
were wrist throwers and danced the ball away like a flash. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 73 



THE USE OF SIGNALS 

It would be impossible to play up-to-date Base Ball without 
a variety of signals, well understood by each member of the 
team. 

It was only a few years ago when the battery alone used 
signals; now every man on the team should know the style of 
ball the pitcher is about to deliver, and whether it will go close 
to the batsman or a little wide of the player. The fielders will 
then have a chance to be on the move in the right direction nine 
times out of ten — a winning percentage. Charley Snyder was 
the cleverest catcher the game has produced, when it came to 
signal work. He never allowed his pitcher to look towards a 
base, unless when throwing the ball. Snyder would give the 
signal to the pitcher in position to deliver the ball, but never 
until he had sized up the base-runner and had him working back 
to a base. Pitchers are apt to give too much attention to the 
base-runner and weaken their chances to get the man at bat. 
Snyder avoided this condition, and had his pitchers always in a 
position to let the ball go the instant that he gave the signal. 

In throwing to first and third, to get a man napping, Snyder 
would give the signal one ball before he was to take the chance, 
giving lime for all to be on the alert to back up. 

The game has grown so full of moves that a clever man 
handling a team from the bench will be kept very busy, and 
must know the signals as well as the players. Managers should 
not labor under the impression that signals will avail if the ball 
players are absent. It takes clever men to work with the slight 
moves, and suggestions necessary for team work, for open signal 
work is very easily detected by your opponent, who will in- 
stantly turn his knowledge to his own advantage. 

Signals, however, are positively necessary for a team's success 
in up-to-date Base Ball when team work is called for. 




WILLIE KEELER, 
Characteristic attitude of New York Americans' right fielder. 
By all he is considered to be one of the best outfielders playing 
base ball, and in this photograph an excellent representation is 
given of the manner in which he steps into the ball when he bats 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 75 



SHORT TALKS ON A VARIETY OF BASE 
BALL TOPICS 

BASE BALL GROUNDS. 

There is nothing more pleasing to the eye of a ball player 
than a fine ball park, with a level surface well kept. 

Skin diamonds will do where nothing better can be found, but 
Base Ball must be played on a turf diamond to bring out all the 
beauties of the game. 

Some of the oldest ball clubs in this country are even to-day 
content with second and third-class infields, handicapping the 
work of the players, and forcing the patrons of the sport to 
witness many misplays, due wholly to the rough surface. 

The infielders must make plays on the dead run, and being 
often forced to time a ball between bounds, depend fully on the 
grounds being as smooth as a billiard table, as the least thing 
will throw a ball out of its true course, and only the real 
phenomenons can play grounders on a rough surface. Here and 
there you will discover a player who will trap a ball between 
bounds in such a way that a rough surface is overcome. The 
average player, however, must have a smooth surface or show 
up badly at times. Nearly all of the hard drives to short and 
second are picked up on unturfed grounds, first and third alone 
being forced to face the hot shot as the ball comes off the grass. 

Nine-tenths of the misplays made in the outfield on ground 
balls are the fault of the ground not being properly leveled and 
cared for. With the large receipts from the big games, every 
major league club in particular, and all professional clubs in 
general, should furnish a level surface for the game, and have 
the same kept in order, so that the players will be responsible 
for only the actual mistakes they make. Perfect ball grounds 
will improve the game twenty-five per cent, and be appreciated 
by the followers of the great sport. To roll true, a ball must 
have an even surface, and the more perfect the ball rolls the 
more ground will the players cover and the more speed attained 
for the pleasure of the spectator. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 77 

PRELIMINARY TRAINING OF PLAYERS. 

The major league teams go south for early practice while the 
minor league teams must work out at the home grounds. This 
is not so bad where the small leagues start the season quite 
late. The college teams usually work out in the gyms and cages 
before taking to the open fields. 

I have gone south with a Boston team now for seventeen 
straight years in the early spring, and made careful notes of 
the work done by the players. Manager Frank Selee was in 
charge of the team a number of years, and I believe he was the 
very best trainer that I have known and brought his men to 
the startmg line in the best condition. 

The very first thing that Manager Selee did was to put each 
man on the scales and get his weight. He would look out for 
ihe men's diet and at the close of each week, weigh the men 
once more. In this way he knew just what work to map out 
for each player and then saw that his orders were carried out. 

The great danger in the spring is sore arms, and the greatest 
care should be taken in this line of work ; in fact, men should 
not be allowed to throw the ball around the diamond until a 
week's training, and then only with great care. 

The players should first jog about the bases until all soreness 
has gone, when they should practice sprinting, and give a great 
deal of time to starting and turning the bases. 

Pitchers should work daily for weeks before attempting to 
let out, and the catchers should be more cautious than the other 
players when throwing the ball. 

When the men are in shape then extra speed should be tried 
for and the development of team work practiced constantly until 
the men could make the play blindfolded, figuratively speaking. 

The young pitchers should do the bulk of the box work in the 
cool spring weather, as the older pitchers should be allowed 
their own time to come to the line, as they know best when they 
are in winning form, and all love to work when on edge for a 
good performance. 

When ready for practice, keep a pitcher in the box to bat 
agamst, and spend at least one-half of the time in bunting and 
place hitting. No player ever got too much batting practice. It 
isn't necessary to smash away at the ball simply to get your 
stick against the leather, and don't wait for balls to be sent you 
in a groove. Nine men out of ten who are successful in bunt- 
ing the ball, or placing a pitched ball, grip the bat up short, as 
they have a better control, and more likely to meet the ball. 
Infielders should work with all the speed possible in practice, 
as this will show to advantage when in the games later on. 




FRED TENNEY, 

Who IS a left-hand thrower but equally expert with both hands, 

in catching throws at first. He is a wonderful ground coverer. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 79 

Distances must be so well gauged that a player could make the 
play blindfolded, and this is brought about by speed practice. 

I think one of the worst features about spring training is the 
way managers run their players to and from the' ball parks, 
mostly through the paved streets of cities. The proper way 
would be to take the men to the ball parks in conveyances, and 
after giving them all the work they could stand, bring the tired 
men home the same way. After a hard practice a long walk or 
run to the hotel leaves the player in weak condition and all 
desire for speed vanished. The ball field is the place to train a 
ball player. 

The minor league players, handicapped by weather conditions, 
must be brought to the line by slow stages. Their one advan- 
tage is youth and players can stand most any kind of weather 
until they have encountered lame arms or strains of any kind. 

College men take too much work in cages and gyms. The 
batting practice is absolutely injurious and the only good may 
be a development of pitchers and base-running, and the chances 
are that all players are starting under a handicap when they do 
their preliminary work indoors. Professional players have come 
to the conclusion that reading at night or on the cars is in- 
jurious to the eyes and therefore should be avoided as much as 
possible by the fraternity. This is one reason that college men 
soon drop out of the business on account of weak stickwork, for 
eyesight is everything when it comes to hitting cleverly pitched 
balls. 

NERVE COUNTS IN BASE BALL. 

One of the most essential ingredients to a winning player's 
makeup is nerve. Without a strong nerve a ball player has 
little chance of winning a place among the stars of the profes- 
sion. Although several have shown to good advantage as 
players, yet a lack of nerve at the time when it required staying 
prowess lost for these men the wholesome respect of the Base 
Ball fraternity, who admire nerve, perhaps more than brilliant 
playing qualities. 

A player who will become rattled is an easy man to beat out. 
but just as soon as the discovery is made that a player has the 
nerve to go the distance, he is then passed up as one to be left 
alone. On the other hand, let it be whispered about that a 
player lacks nerve, and he is sure to become a mark for his 
opponents, who will bother him in many ways and keep his 
attention off his work. 

Men strengthen their nerves by playing together; often weak- 
hearted players will brace when blended with a nervy bunch, as 




JENNINGS 

With hands outstretched as a target for the fielders when throwing to 

first base. A great help to poor throwers. 



SrALDINCrS ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 81 

the latter will see the advantage of encouraging their fellow- 
workmen, who has the ability, but not the fire, to be effective 
under trying situations. 

Some ball players fairly shine when the situation is critical, 
and extra fine work is called for. They become cool under fire 
and plan their defence like magic. They have strong nerves and 
hearts that beat with the regulation of an old hall clock. 
Matched against this brand of ball player, what chance has a 
man with a fluttering heart and a nerve affected by every pass- 
ing cloud ? 

To keep the nerve keyed up to its proper strength ball pla3'ers 
must take care of their systems, by avoiding all dissipation, and 
not live the strenuous life. Those who start without the real 
nerve can never be expected to develop the favor, although as- 
sociation with the real thing will help considerably. 



PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW THE PLAYING RULES. 

It can be set down for a positive fact that less than one-half 
the professional ball players fully understand the playing rules. 

Only a small majority of the ball players make any study of 
the rules, and are ever at a loss to explain complicated plays 
and show surprise at the umpire's findings. 

Usually all is left to the captain of the team, who is supposed 
to read up on the new rule- each season and teach the men 
before the regular games begin. 

The wise player will carefully read the rules and become 
thoroughly posted at all times, protecting his own game, and 
showing that he takes an interest in his business._ 

I have seen hundreds of men apply for umpire berths and 
felt competent to make good, until they were asked three or 
four off-hand questions, when they were forced to admit they 
had not learned their lesson before applying for the place. 

I never knew but one man who could explain the meaning of 
every rule in the Spalding Official Guide, and that was the late 
Harry Wright, who was absolutely letter perfect, and always 
vv^illing to teach all comers. Base Ball was a deep study with 
]\Ir. Wright and each spring he would hand each of his players 
a book of rules and expect each man to read carefully, and be 
prepared to answer any question that he might ask. By this 
svstem the plavers under Mr. Wright were always far ahead of 
the fraternity, 'and won many points by their better knowledge 
of the game. 

The late Robert Ferguson was a natural rule maker,_ and al- 
ways advised umpires to consider "fair play" when m doubt 





im 




JOE DELEHANTY. 
Boston Nationals. 



HANS WAGNER, 
Pittsburg. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY 



about a rule. Ferguson contended that the umpire alone could 
make ground rules, as there was no provision in the Guide 
until "fair play" and Ferguson's rules became synonymous. 
Players should learn the rules. 



COLLIDING ON THE BALL FIELD. 

Team mates colliding on a ball field during a game is wholly 
unnecessary, and yet many games have been lost in this way. 
especially before large crowds. During ordinary games, with 
little or no noise from cheering crowds, players can avoid all 
the trouble, by calling out, "I have it," when the fielders are 
after a fly ball. No player should call out until he is sure that 
he can reach the ball. Then when he does call out the other 
player or players running for the same fly should play to back 
up, and give the man who is after the ball a fair and open field. 
Once a fielder calls that he has it, he alone should pay atten- 
tion to the ball, and he should make every effort to reach the 
ball knowing that he had a clear field. 

Where large crowds attend the games, such as were present 
at the great world's championship series, the players should 
work with signals, as it is impossible to hear what players say. 
I would suggest that as soon as a player finds he can take the 
ball, that he stretch out his arms. This would not impede his 
speed and would be easily understood. In foot ball the player 
about to make a fair catch raises one hand above his head. 

This signal would handicap a ball player at full speed, while 
throwing the hands wide apart is a natural move for a fielder 
about to pull down a fly ball. 

Both the second-baseman and the shortstop are supposed to 
dash into the outfield at full speed for every short fly ball, and the 
fact that they are running with their back to the plate forces 
the outfielders to allow them to try for many balls that would 
have been easy for the outfielders. In cases of this kind all 
depends on the outfielder. If he calls out in time the infielder 
can stop. The trouble will come where the noise from the 
crowd prevents one player hearing the other. In this contin- 
gency the outfielder must protect the infielder by allowing the 
latter to make the play if possible; in fact, all depends on the 
outfielder. 

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS DISCUSSED. 

A ball player might be valuable to a club in New Orleans and 
of little use to a team in Boston. 




ABBATICCHIO. 
Pittsburg. 



FRED TENNEY. 
Boston Nationals, 



SPALDING'S ATIILI:TIC LIBRARY. 85 

The best plaj^ers have found it next to impossible to give good 
satisfaction to clubs in Washington and St. Louis, to feel at 
home and do good work in Boston and Chicago. 

It is a rare thing to find a major league pennant winner from 
an inland city, and the reason for this is often given as the 
result of climatic conditions. 

For example, the great pitcher, Cy Young, was all out of 
condition and pitched a few games for the St. Louis club. He 
enjoyed the distinction of being considered one of the best for 
ten years at Cleveland, and kept up his splendid work as soon 
as he came to Boston. He claimed that St. Louis did not agree 
with him. and it was too hot there in the summer, while the cool 
breezes of the lake at Cleveland, and the sea at Boston put him 
on edge for his best work. 

For years players have fought shy of Washington, while de- 
lighted to play in New York, Philadelphia, Boston. Chicago and 
Detroit, where the conditions were more favorable for invigorat- 
ing weather. 

Players pass from the big leagues of the north with lame 
arms and other ailments to revive as soon as they take up their 
homes in the Southland. The east winds of Boston are trying 
to pitchers who depend on curving, while the South is the 
proper country for the player with a lame arm. The players 
seldom mind the heat in the South, as it comes gradually and 
is generally cool at night. 

Going West into the higher altitudes, the weak lunged players 
will find the best playgrounds, for a young man may be a frost 
in Boston, and win the applause of the fans in Denver. Large 
sized players have a chance to do their best work in the cooler 
cities, while the smaller player will thrive in the South and far 
West. 

Washington and Cincinnati have never been able to win any- 
thing more than a minor league championship since Base Ball 
became a national institution. 

Boston, New York, Brooklyn. Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit and 
Pittsburg have monopolized the honors under organized ball, 
and Pittsburg, the city at the junction of two rivers, had to 
strike her colors when she met the vigorous youth of Boston, 
fed on baked beans and east wind. 

The most delightful cities to play ball in for a season are San 
Francisco, Oakland, Portland (Oregon), Boston, New York, 
Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and Mil- 
waukee, and other cities close to the salt water and big lakes. 

On several occasions Cincinnati started out with pennant pos- 
sibilities, but was never able to finish in the fast company of the 
major leagues. The only team that ever won for the Queen 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. g*" 

City was the famous Cincinnati Reds, of '69 and '70. The team 
was made up mostly of Eastern players and four-fifths of the 
games were played away from home. 

Where teams are as evenly matched as they are at the present 
time, in the major leagues, the climatic conditions will tell the 
story nine times out of ten. 

In picking a team for one of the warmer or inland cities it 
would be well to select the kind of player most likely to flourish 
under the conditions, and the older the player the more par- 
ticular he becomes ; and while able to hold up his end will be 
apt to pick out the place instead of being selected. I know of 
several players who failed to put their best efforts forth, simply 
because they were anxious to go to other cities, where the con- 
ditions would suit their physical makeup. 

The mistake is often made of training a ball team in the 
warm weather of the far South, and then bringing the men to 
the North for severe games. The result is bad and often very 
costly to the club. A gradual drifting from one climatic con- 
dition to another is a fairly safe proposition, but there is nothing 
more dangerous to limb and muscles than quick changes from 
South to North in the early spring. 

Curve pitchers can do their best work in the warmer climates, 
while the best batsmen are in their glory with the cool, bright, 
sporty conditions of the climate. 



THE KNOCKER IN BASE BALL. 

There is absolutely no room for the knocker in a successful 
Base Ball team. 

Some of the strongest teams ever organized have gone to 
pieces as the result of adding this microbe to the payroll of a 
ball club. There is no instance in the history of our game 
where a pronounced knocker has ever shone as a success, while 
a long string of signal failures were branded as champion 
knockers after showing their true colors in the handling of great 
ball players. 

A few names stand out in Base Ball as successful managers 
of men on the ball field. First comes Harry Wright, who orig- 
inated and developed professional Base Ball; then conies A G. 
Spalding, A. C. Anson, John M. Ward, Charley Comiskey, 
Frank G. Selee, Edward Hanlon, Fred Clarke, James Collins, 
Connie Mack and John McGraw. Those men were in absolute 
control of their teams and no man living can point to one in- 
stance of knocking by this select band of successful Base Ball 
directors. Every team handled by these men contained one or 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 89 

more grand master of the art of knocking, but were always 
marked men and held in place by the tact of the man at the 
helm. 

In the major leagues every knocking player is a marked man, 
for the tip' is passed along from one club to another, until the 
player is often released for this cause alone. He knows his own 
faults and each time determines to cut it out, but he cannot re- 
sist the temptation to indulge again in the exquisite pleasure 
when he finds a manager willing to listen, until once more 
passed up as a trouble maker. 

The greatest ball players are as sensitive as the E string of 
a violin and the semblance of a knock will often put them to 
the bad. Deep-thinking players have grown wise to the effects 
of making offhand remarks about each other, no matter how in- 
viting the occasion, until the professional ball player is gradually 
becoming a model of discretion. 

I will take John McGraw for an example. Being in abso- 
lute control of his New York players, he is not hampered by 
the owners of the club. No club in the business has a greater 
number of men who have been knocked from one club to an- 
other as New York. With a full quota of knockers in line, 
McGraw has taken this combination and by his own example 
has rounded out a well behaved lot of professionals. Success 
will weld the players together and the men listen to "Little 
Mack," who is ever on the alert for their good will, while never 
afraid to call down the guilty man. McGraw has practically 
reformed several bad men. Collins, Clarke, Mack, Comiskey 
and Selee have tamed an army of erratic players. Players are 
like the strings of a golden harp, they forever need tuning up, 
and it takes a master hand and mind to blend the notes into 
perfect harmony. 

Some of the best ball players in the past, have withered under 
the expression, "You're a knocker," until a clever manager, as 
well as the level-headed player, is ever careful not to come 
under this class. The meanest kind of a knocker is the player 
who carries stories to the club officials. If the men in charge 
are not bright enough to keep in close touch with the hired 
players, why, they are entitled to a shade the worst of it, is the 
rock bottom philosophy of the ball player, and this is what 
makes valuable a manager who is up to "the inside work of the 
player, both on and off the field, and such were the accomplish- 
ments of the men who made a success in the Base Ball busi- 
ness. No superficial knowledge ever won out, and but one man 
in the history, not a professional himself, at one time, ever won 
the blue ribbon of success. That exception to the rule was 
Frank G. Selee, who ever managed to be surrounded with high 




FRED CLARKE. 
Pittsburg. 



BOB UNGLAUB. 



SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. 91 

class lieutenants, who were never jealous of their manager and 
gave him their best efforts. 

Frank Selee was ever on the alert for the knocker, and when 
he discovered one he was released in a quiet way and passed 
out of Selee's control. I could quote several cases in point while 
Selee managed the Boston club for a dozen years. 

The president of a ball club should never resort to personalities 
about ball players in general, and particularly not about his own 
men, no matter how poor their work may be, for the players 
have their off days just as in other lines of work, and it is when 
poor luck is following closely they need the most sympathy. 
Once the players have pronounced the official of the club a 
knocker trouble begins and the club commences to lose the power 
of making money, and very often able managers are unable to 
get proper results, simply because they are forced to take orders 
from men who are not capable of understanding the laws of 
friction in a Base Ball club, where mind over matter is just as 
essential for success as a good pair of legs. Be charitable but 
firm. 

Ball players usually know better than any one else when they 
are failing to make good and will ever listen to a fair criticism 
from the man in charge. 

The pick of the profession could not land a team in the first 
division if compelled to travel with a knocker as leader. Hearts 
as well as heads and hands win ball games, and the combination, 
like an eight-day clock, must be continually regulated and looked 
after. 

Let the fan knock, let the reporters have their little knock. 
The man who never attends the game is bound to knock on 
general principles. The team will thrive, even under these con- 
ditions, but let the officers of the club come under the head oi 
knockers and there is no chance for success, for a ball team with 
a knocker in command is like a boat drifting onto hidden rocks 
with her rudder gone. 

In the words of a Quaker Base Ball philosopher, 'If you can't 
boost, don't knock." 



Spalding' s Athletic Library. 



SPALDING'S 
SIMPLIFIED BASE BALL RULES 



The following simplified Base Ball Rules are based on the 
Official Playing Rules as published in Spalding's Official Base 
Ball Guide, and contain all essential features for the playing of 
the game. These Simplified Rules are intended especially for the 
amateur player and spectator, who may not have the time and 
inclination to study out all the technical points of the complete 
Code of Playing Rules, which, of course, are necessary for the 
professional expert. The game is divided into the important 
departments, under appropriate headings, with a special notation 
referring to the particular Official Rules in the Spalding Guide 
bearing upon that particular department for ready reference. 



The Ball Ground ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ played on a level 

._-. - «i. r^ 4 field, upon which is outlined a 

How to Lay it Uut square, which is known as the 
infield ox "diamond." The term "diamond" is also frequently 
used to apply to the entire field. The infield is outlined by 
bases, placed at right angles to each other, on each corner, 
beginning from the home plate. The intervals between bases 
must be ninety feet. 

The territory outside the diamond infield is known as the 
outfield. All that portion of the field outside the base lines— 
which extend from home plate to first base and from home plate 
to third base— and all territory behind the home plate, as well as 



Spalding's Athletic Library, 

all territory outside of a straight line reaching from the outside 
corner of third and first bases indefinitely to the outfield, is foul 
ground. 

Sometimes it is impossible for lads who desire to play base 
ball to obtain a field sufficiently large for a regulation diamond, 
but in such cases they should always try to lay the bases out at 
equal distances from each other, in order that the correct theory 
of the game and its symmetry may be preserved. Players of 
younger years may find that a smaller diamond adds more enjoy- 
ment to their game since they are better able to cover the ground 
in a smaller area and do not become so fatigued by running the 
bases when placed at their furthest distances. 

The bases, except home plate, are best constructed of canvas 
filled with saw dust. Home plate should be made of whitened 
rubber. The pitcher's position on a regulation size diamond is 
located sixty and five-tenths feet from home plate and on a 
straight line extending from home plate toward second base. It, 
too, should be made of whitened rubber the shape of a parallelo- 
gram twenty-four inches long by six inches wide with the 
longer sides of the parallelogram at right angles to home plate. 

On a smaller field the pitcher's plate should occupy a position 
at the same relative distance from home plate. If it is impossible 
to obtain canvas bags and rubber plates for the bases, other 
substances will do, but the materials mentioned are much more 
preferable. 

(For detailed description, see Rules Nos. 1 to 13, inclusive, of Spalding'a 
Official Base Ball Guide.) 



PlaVPPS* Benches ^^^ ^^^^ grounds should be pro- 

riayers oencnes ^.^^^ ^.^^^ ^^^ players' benches, 

back of and on each side of [the home plate, and not less than 25 
feet outside of the coachers' lines. Each team should occupy one 
of these benches exclusively, and their bats and accoutrements 
should be kept near their bench. 

(See Rule 21 of Spaldingr's Official Base Ball Guide.) 



Spalding* s Athletic Library'. 

Field Rules ^° person shall be allowed on any part of 

the playing field except the players in uniform, 
the manager of each side, the umpire and of^cers of the law. No 
manager, captain or player shall address the spectators. 
(See Rules 75-77 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

Tlie Rail '^^^ Spalding Ofificial League Ball is used in 

regulation games, but for players fifteen years 
old or younger, the Spalding Official Boys' League Ball, made 
same as the National League Ball, only slightly smaller in size, 
should be used, for it better fits the boy's hand and prevents 
straining the arm in throwing. 

(See Rule 14 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

The Regulation Bat '^^^ ^^^ "^""'^ ^^^^^^ ^^ "°""^ 

and not to exceed 2% inches in 
diameter at the thickest part. Spalding Trade Marked Bats are 
made to suit all ages and physiques, and are strictly in accord- 
ance with official regulations. 

(See Rule 15 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 



baseman 



Regulation Gloves '^^^ catcher or first 

_l \miA.A. "^^y wear a glove or mitt of any 

^'^** •'•"■* "S gJ2e^ shape or weight. Every 

other player is restricted to the use of a glove or mitt weighing 
not over 10 ounces and measuring not over 14 inches around the 
palm. Spalding's Trade Marked Gloves and Mitts are regulation 
weight and size and are used by all the champion players. 
(See Rule 20 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

Players' Uniform . ^^"'"^ p\^^"^ by players not dad 
*' in a regular uniform are called 

*' Scrub" games, and are not recorded as "Match" games. 
Every club should adopt a regular uniform, not only to enable 
the players to properly play the game, but to distinguish one 
team from the other. 

(See Rule 19 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 



Spalding's Athletic Library. 

^VLXnibGT and T^o teams make up each con- 

1» «x* £. ni t^st, with nine players on each 

Positions of Players .i^e. The fielders are known as 
the Pitcher, the Catcher, the First Baseman, the Second Base- 
man, the Third Baseman, the Shortstop, the Left Fielder, the 
Center Fielder and the Right Fielder. None of these is required 
to occupy an exact position, except the pitcher, who must be 
within the "Pitcher's Box" when pitching the ball to the batter, 
and the catcher, who must be within the "Catcher's Space" 
behind the batter. 

(See Rules 16, 17 and 18 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

Substitute Players , ,^ '."'^^''"' number of substl- 
•^ tutes in uniform should always be 

on the field ready to take the place of any disabled player. 
(See Rule 28 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

Choice of Innings The home dub shall have the 

--,, « — p, , J « choice of innings and shall decide 

r itneSS Ot t leld tor ^n the fitness of the ground for 

Play beginning the game. 

(See Rule 29 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

General Defines the meaning of the technical terms. 

, , ''Play," "Time," "Game," "An inning," 

Definitions ^.^ Time at Bat," and "Legal or Legally."^ 
(See Rules 78-83 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

Awj , I ^s r^^^^^ The game begins with the 

Regulation Oame ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^.^-^^ 

and the first batter of the opposing team in his "box" at home 
plate. If it is not possible to outline a box it should be remem- 
bered that the batter is never allowed to step over the plate to 
strike at the ball, and that he must not run forward to exceed three 
feet to strike at it. The umpire may take hi^ position at his option, 
either behind the catcher or the pitcher. He judge? all balls and 



Spalding's Athletic Library, 

strikes, decides all outs, decides whether the ball is batted foul 
or fair, decides as to the legality of the pitcher's delivery, and, 
in fact, has complete control of the game. His decisions must 
never be questioned, except by the captain of either team, and 
only then in the event that there is a dispute as to the correct 
interpretation of the rules. 

The team at bat is allowed two coachers on the field, one oppo- 
site third base and one opposite first base, but they must never ap- 
proach either base to a distance closer than five feet, and must 
not coach when there are no runners on the bases. 

Whenever a player is substituted on a nine, he must always 
bat in the order of the man whose position he is called upon to 
fill. A player may be substituted at any time, but the player whose 
place he takes is no longer eligible to take part in the contest. 

A game is won when the side first at bat scores fewer runs in 
nine innings than the side second at bat. This rule applies to 
games of fewer innings. Thus, whenever the side second at bat 
has scored more runs in half an inning less than the side first 
at bat, it shall be declared the winner, provided the side first at 
bat has completed five full innings at bat. A game is also won 
if the side last at bat scores the winning run before the third man 
is out. 

In case of a tie game play continues, until at the end of even in- 
nings, one side has scored more runs than the other; provided, 
that if the side last at bat scores the winning run before the third 
man is out, the game shall terminate. 

(See Rules 22-27 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 

ps^ 1 « ♦ u I When the pitcher delivers the ball he 

riicning nuies ^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ j^j^ 

feet in contact with the pitcher's plate. 

Whenever the ball, after being pitched, goes over any por- 
tion of the home plate, between the batter's knee or shoulder, 
it must be called a strike whether the batter strikes at it or not. 

If the pitcher fails to deliver the ball over any portion of the 
plate, or if he delivers it over the plate above the shoulder or be- 



Spalding's Athletic Library, 

low the knee, it is called a ball if the batter declines to strike at 
it. 

At the beginning of each inning the pitcher is allowed to throw 
live balls either to the catcher or an infielder for practice. 

If the pitcher makes a motion to deliver the ball to the bat 
and fails to do so, or feints to throw to first base when oc- 
cupied by a runner, and fails to complete the throw, the um- 
pire must call a balk. 

A balk is also declared when the pitcher makes a motion to 
throw to any base without stepping directly toward that base; 
when either foot of the pitcher is behind the pitcher's plate when 
he delivers the ball; when he fails to face the batsman in de- 
livering the ball; when either foot is not in contact with the 
pitcher's plate when delivering the ball ; when he purposely delays 
the game by holding the ball ; when he makes any motion to pitch 
while standing in his position and does not have the ball in his 
possession ; when he makes any motion with any part of his body 
corresponding to his customary style in pitching and fails to 
deliver the ball ; when he delivers the ball to the catcher when 
the latter is outside of the catcher's box. 

When a pitched ball hits the batsman, or the umpire before 
the catcher touches it, the umpire must declare it a dead ball 
and no base runner can advance. 

If a foul strike, a foul hit not caught, dead ball or a fair hit 
"ball touch a base runner, the ball is not in play again until it is 
held by the pitcher standing in his position. 

A block ball is a batted or thrown ball that is touched by a 
person not engaged in the game. The umpire must so announce 
it and runners may advance until the ball is returned to the 
pitcher in his position. After that they continue to advance at 
their own peril. If the blocked ball be held by a spectator or 
be kicked away from a fielder by a spectator, the umpire may call, 
*'Time," and hold the runners at the bases where they werc 
when he called, "Time."' 

(See Rules 38-51 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 



•^pulamg's Aihleik Librafy, 

fiattin^ Rules Each captain is privileged to look at 

the batting order of his opponent, and 
both batting orders must be furnished the umpire. 

After the first inning the first batter in each inning is the player 
succeeding the man who completed his time at bat in the in- 
ning before. 

A fielder always has the right of way over a batter to catch or 
handle the ball. 

Any legally batted ball that settles on fair ground between 
home and first, or home and third base, or that bounds on fair 
ground to the outfield past first base or third base, or that falls 
on fair ground beyond first base or third base, or that touches 
the person of a player or the umpire on fair ground is a fair 
hit. A ground hit that first strikes fair territory and rolls out 
of the foul line between home and first or home and third is 
a foul hit. Any legally batted ball that settles on foul ground is 
a foul hit, except that a ground hit rolling from foul to fair 
territory between home and first or home or third and remains 
there is a fair hit. 

A foul tip is the continuation of a strike which has just been 

touched by the bat and shoots directly to the catcher's hands. 

A bunt hit is a legally batted ball tapped slowly to the infield 

which remains on fair ground. If a bunt rolls foul it must be 

called a strike, whether the first, second or third strike. 

Any hit going outside the ground is fair or foul, as the umpire 
judges its flight at the point at which it passes beyond the limi- 
tations of the enclosure. Any hit going outside the ground be- 
yond a distance of 235 feet entitles the batter to a home run. 

If the batsman strikes at a pitched ball and misses it, the umpire 
must call a strike. If a ball passes over the plate at the proper 
height the umpire must call a strike whether or not the batsman 
strikes at it. A foul tip, caught by the catcher, is always a 
strike. A foul hit, whether a fly or a ball bounding to any part 
of foul ground, is a strike unless the batter has two strikes. 
After two strikes the batter may foul the ball without penalty un- 
less he be caught out on a foul fly. 



Spalding's Athleiie Library, 

All bunts rolling foul are strikes. If the batsman strikes at 
the ball and misses it, but the ball hits him, it is a strike. If the 
batsman hits the ball with either of his feet out of the batter's 
box, it is a foul strike and he is out. 

If a batsman bats out of turn, and it is discovered before the 
ball has been delivered to the succeeding batsman, the man, who 
should have batted, is out, and no runs can be scored or bases be 
run on the play made by the wrong batter. If while the wrong 
batsman is at bat, the mistake is discovered, the proper batsman 
may take his place, but he must be charged with the balls and 
strikes that have been recorded against the wrong batsman. In 
a case of this kind the batters continue to follow in their regular 
order. 

If a batsman be declared out because of a wrong man batting 
for him, and it be the third out, the player first at bat in the next 
inning shall be the one who would have been at bat had the 
players in the preceding inning been put out by ordinary play. 

The batsman can be called out if he fails to take his place 
within one minute after the umpire has called for him. 

A foul fly caught by a fielder retires the batsman, providing 
the fielder does not use his cap, his protector, or any illegal con- 
trivance to hold the ball. I.f the ball should lodge in the catcher's 
protector by accident, and he should secure the ball before it falls 
to the ground, it has been ruled that this is a fair catch. 

Whenever the batter attempts to hinder the catcher from field- 
ing or throwing the ball, he is out. 

If there is a man on first base, unless two are out, the batter is 
out when three strikes are called, whether the catcher holds the 
ball or not. 

If there is a man on first base, unless two are out, the batter is 
out when three strikes are called, whether the catcher holds the 
ball or not. 

The batsman is out on the third strike if the ball hits him and 
base runners must not advance. 

Before two men are out, if the batsman pops up a fly to the 



Spalding'' s Athletic Library* 

infield, with second or first, or second and third bases occupied, 
the batsman is out if the umpire announces it an infield hit, and 
the umpire must make an instantaneous decision in order that a 
double play may be prevented and the base runners may be pro- 
tected. 

After the batsman makes a fair hit on which he is not put out, 
he must touch first, second and third base and the home plate in 
regular succession to score a run. 

No base runner can score ahead of the men who precedes him 
in the battmg order if that player is also a base runner. 

The batsman must run to first base immediately after four balls 
have been called, as well as after a fair hit has been made. 

If the batsman is hit by a pitched ball, and the umpire is satis- 
fied that the batsman did not purposely get in the way of the ball, 
he is entitled to go to first base without being put out. 

Should the catcher interfere with the batsman in striking at 
the ball, the batsman is entitled to first base without being put 
out. 

The batsman who hits a fair ball that strikes the person or 
clothing of a base runner is entitled to first base. 

After the third strike is called and missed by the catcher, if 
the batsman interferes with him he is out. 

Any fly ball legally hit by the batsman and legally caught on 
fair or foul ground is out. 

Three strikes are out if the catcher holds the ball. In case 
he drops it, but picks it up, and touches the batsman, or picks it 
up, and throws to first base ahead of the batsman, the latter 
is out. 

Should the batsman make a fair hit and in the last half of the 
distance between home plate and first base run more than three 
feet outside of the line he is out, except that he may go out of the 
line to avoid interfering with a fielder trying to handle the ball 
as batted. This rule is construed rather liberally owing to the 
great speed with which runners go to first base. 

(See Rules 38-51 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 



Spalding's Athletic Library. 

Base Running Whenever the umpire sends the bats- 

p I man to first base on balls, or being hit 

nuies ^y ^ pitched ball, or being interfered 

with by the catcher, all runners on bases immediately ahead of 

him may advance a base without being put out. 

Runners on the bases may take the next base without being put 
out whenever the umpire calls a balk. 

A pitched ball, that passes the catcher and strikes the umpire, 
or any fence, or building, within ninety feet of the home plate, 
entitles each runner to advance a base. 

If a fielder obstructs a base runner, the runner may go to the 
next base unless the fielder has the ball in hand to touch him 
out. 

A base runner may advance a base whenever the fielder stops 
or catches the ball with his cap, glove or any part of his uniform, 
detached from its proper place on his person. 

The base runner shall return to his base, without being put out, 
on a foul tip, or foul fly not legally caught by a fielder and on 
a hit bounding foul. On a foul strike the runner must return to 
his base. On a dead ball the runner must return. If it be the 
fourth ball and a runner be on first, he is bound to advance. I£ 
there are runners ahead of him, on second or third, they, too, must 
advance in regular order. 

If by accident the umpire interferes with the catcher's throw 
or a thrown ball hit the umpire, the runner must return to his 
base and cannot be put out. If a pitched ball is struck at and 
missed by the batsman, but the ball hits the batsman, the runner 
returns to his base and cannot be put out. In any of the above 
cases the runner is not required to touch any intervening bases 
to reach the base to which he is legally entitled. 

Whenever the runner is on the way from first to second, second 
to third, or third to home plate, or reverse order, he must keep 
within three feet of a direct line between bases. If he runs out 
of line to avoid being touched by a fielder he is out. However if 
a fielder is on the line trying to field a batted ball, the runner 



Spalding's Athletic Library. 

may run behind him to avoid interference, and shall not be put 
out. 

Interference with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball re- 
tires the runner, unless two fielders are after the same hit, and 
the runner collides with the one whom the umpire believes to 
have had the lesser opportunity to get the ball. 

The runner is always out at any time that he may be touched 
by the ball in the hands of a fielder, unless the runner is on the 
base to which he is legally entitled. The ball, however, must be 
held by the fielder after he has touched the runner. If the run- 
ner deliberately knocks the ball out of the fielder's hands, he 
shall be declared out if not on base. 

If the runner fails to get back to base after a foul or fair 
fly is caught, before the ball is fielded to that base and legally 
held, or the runner be touched before he can get back to base by 
a fielder with the ball in his hands, the runner is out, except that 
if the ball be thrown to the pitcher, and he delivers it to the 
batter, this penalty does not apply. If a base should be torn 
from its fastenings, when the runner strikes it he cannot be put 
out. 

If a runner is on first, or runners are on first and second, or 
first, second and third, and the ball shall be legally batted to fair 
ground, all runners are forced to run, except in the case of an 
infield fly, previously referred to, or a long fly to the outfield, and 
may be put out at any succeeding base if the ball is fielded there 
and properly held, or the runners may be touched out between 
bases in the proper manner. After a foul fly is caught or a long 
fly to the outfield is caught base runners have the privilege of 
trying for the next base. 

A base runner hit by a legally batted ball in fair territory is 
out. In every case where a base runner preceding the batsman is 
hit with a fair-hit ball, the batsman is entitled to first base and 
cannot be put out. If such fair-hit ball strike the man who batted 
same while he is running to first base, the batsman is out and no 
bases can be run. 



Spalding' s Athletic Library, 



A runner who fails to touch a base in regular or reverse order, 
when a fair play is being made, is out if the ball be properly held 
by a fielder on the base that should have been touched, or the 
runner be touched out between bases by the ball legally held by 
a fielder. 

A runner is out if after "Play" has been called by the umpire 
he fails to return to the base that he occupied when "Time" was 
temporarily called, providing always that the ball in the meantime 
has not been delivered by the pitcher to the batter. 

When the batter runs to first base, he may overrun the base if 
he turns to the right after passing it. If he turns to the left he 
renders himself liable to be touched out before he gets back to 
the base. 

If before two are out, and third base is occupied, the coacher 
at third base shall attempt to fool the fielder by pretending to run 
home, thereby drawing a throw to home plate, the runner on 
third base shall be declared out. 

If one or more members of the team at bat gather around a 
base for which a runner is trying, thereby confusing the fielding 
side, the runner trying for the base shall be declared out. 

If a runner touch home plate before a runner preceding him 
in the batting order, if there be such a runner, the latter shall 
lose his right to third base. 

The coachers must confine themselves to legitimate directions 
of the base runners only, and there must never be more than 
two coachers on the field, one near first base and the other near 
third base. 

One run shall be scored every time a player has made the 
legal circuit of the bases before three men are out, provided that 
a runner who reaches home, on or during a play in which the 
third man is forced out, or is put out before reaching first base, 
shall not be entitled to score. 

Any special ground rules shall be understood by both team 



Spalding* s Athletic Library, 

captains and the umpire. The captain of the home club estab- 
lishes the ground rules. 

A player who makes a legal hit to fair territory is entitled to 
as many bases as he can advance without being put out. If a 
fielder is unable to get the ball until the batter has completed the 
circuit of the bases it is called a home run providing no fielder 
makes a misplay in handling the ball. The same rule applies to 
the making of a three-base hit, a two-base hit, or a one-base hit 
— better known as a single. 

(See Rules 52-59 of Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide.) 



Umpire's Duties ^''" ^^''^ '''' ""^ """''^f *° 

*^ call a draw game, whenever storm 

interferes, if the score is equal on the last even inning played. 
However, if the side second at bat is at bat when a storm 
breaks, and the game is terminated, and this side has scored the 
same number of runs as the other side, the umpire can call the 
game drawn without regard to the score of the last equal in- 
ning. Under like conditions, if the side second at bat has scored 
more runs than the side first at bat, it shall be declared the winner, 
all runs for both sides being counted. 

A game can be forfeited by the umpire If a team refuses to take 
the field within five minutes after he has called "Play"; if one 
side refuses to play after the game has begun ; if, after the um- 
pire has suspended play, one side refuses to play after he has 
again called "Play"; if one side tries to delay the game; if the 
rules are violated after warning by the umpire; if there are not 
nine players on a team after one has been removed by the umpire. 
The umpire has the right to remove players for kicking at de- 
cisions or for behaving in an ungentlemanly manner. 

Only by the consent of the captain of an opposing team may a 
base runner have a batter of his own side run for him. 

The choice of innings is given to the captain of the home club. 
If two clubs happen to be playing from the same city the choice 
of innings may be determined b,v tossing a coiiv 



Spalding* s Athletic Library, 

Play may be suspended by the umpire because of rain and if 
rain falls continuously for thirty minutes the umpire may termi- 
nate the game. The umpire may call "Time" for any valid reason, 
but not until the pitcher is in his position with the ball in his 
hand. In case of serious accident this provision is usually 
waived, the ball being fielded as quickly as possible to some point 
to hold the runners. 

(See Rules 60-74 of Spalding's Official Base BallGuide.) 

Scorind Rules Each side may have its own scorer, 

and in case of disagreement, the umpire 
shall decide, or the captains of each side may agree upon one 
scorer for the match. 

(See Rules 84r86 of Spalding's Official Base Ball GwWe.) 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



WHAT A BASE BALL 
PLAYER NEEDS 



J^ J^ J ^ J^ > ' ^ J^ J^ 



A Base Ball player needs an outfit that plays with him, not against 
him, and we have got to reckon in the outfit as the most important 
articles the Balls, Bats, Mitts and Gloves that the player uses. 
After that we have got to consider the uniforms and then the arti- 
cles making up the equipment of the grounds. 




For over thirty years A. G. Spalding & Bros, have been studying 
to please the athlete, to give him just what is right and what is 
most suitable for the sport that he is interested in. This applies 
not only to Base Ball goods but also to the general line of athletic 
equipment. 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



Taking up the first requisite of the Base Ball player — the ball — 
The Spalding Official League Ball has been used exclusively by the 
National League, Minor Leagues, and by all Iniercollegiate and other 
associations for over a quarter of a century, and is beyond all ques- 
tion the most perfect Base Ball that has ever been produced. It is 
put out with an absolute guarantee to last through one continual 
match g'ame without losing its shape. The price of the Spalding 
Official League Base Ball is $1.25 each and it is carried in stock and 
sold by dealers throughout the country, a total of over 30,000 who 
handle the Spalding line of athletic goods. 

A ball that calls for the consider- 
ation of clubs that want a ball that 
is regulation in every way. but 
somewhat niore durable than the 
re&ular Official League Ball, is the 
Spalding Double Seam No. 0, t-'\e 
price of which is $1.50 each. Tl is 
ball is made with the same ca le 
and of the same material as ti e 
Official League Ball, and the doul e 
stitch renders it doubly secv e 
against ripping. 




For boys* teams, playing games that are to be recognized as of- 
ficial, the Spalding No. IB ball should be used. The price of this 
ball is 75 cents. This is made with horsehide cover and in every 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 

respect is the same as the OflBcial League Ball except that it is 
slightly smaller in size. 

To satisfy the demand for a high grade ball as good as any so- 
called "League" balls made in imitation of the Spalding Official 
League Ball, the No. X 'Varsity League Ball has been put out by 
Spalding, and the price of this ball is $1.00 each. A new full size 
ball has been added to the Spalding line this season,; this is the 
Spalding No. lA Amateur League, made with the horsehide cover and 
of excellent material throughout; price 75 cents. Other large size 
balls in the Spalding line are the No. 2, Professional, 50 cents; No. 
5, King of the Diamond, 25 cents; No. 7, Boys' Favorite, 20 cents; 
No. 8, 10 cents. The other special balls included in the Spalding 
line for boys' use and slightly smaller than regulation size are No. 
XB, Interscholastic League, 50 cents; No. 10, High Flyer, 25 cents; 
No. 7B, League Junior, 25 cents; No, 14, Boys' Amateur, 15 cents; 
No. 9B. Boys' Lively. 10 cents; No. 13, Rocket, 5 cents. All of 
these Base Balls are well made. The quality of material throughout 
is excellent and the sewing and other details of manufacture are all 
attended to in our own factory under the direct supervision of ex- 
pert Base Ball players through whose hands every ball passes before 
it is put out for use. 

A Base Ball Bat in these days has got to be something more than 
a stick of wood whittled out by the boy himself, or a convenient 
broom handle sawed off to the proper length. A Spalding Base Ball 
Bat means a scientific article of Base Ball play; something that has 
had the consideration of men who know just what is required by a 
Base Ball player and who have had at their disposal the unequaled 
facilities of our manufacturing establishment to produce a bat that 
is just right. The demand for Base Ball bats has been so great at 
times as to tax to the utmost the facilities of the Spalding factory, 
but that has never led us to take from our drying sheds, timber not 
sufficiently seasoned. We have made certain in every case before a 
stick of "timber was taken out of the drying shed that it had been 
properly seasoned so as to give the necessary driving power required 
in a Base Ball Bat that is to be just right, and then after the 
stick of timl)er has been turned over to the batmaker. who is to turn 
it out, it needs his practiced eye and the knowledge that he has 
gotten during all the years that he has been supervising the manu- 
facture of Spalding bats to tell him just what model that particular 
bat should be made, to utilize to the fullest extent the good points in- 
herent in the superb timber to which so much expense and trouble 
has already been attached. 

You may turn a piece of timber that is just right over to a man 
who does not know what is required in a Base Ball Bat, and al- 
though you show him the model of what you need, it does not follow 
that he will give you a bat that will be satisfactory. It needs a 
certain special knowledge to turn out a bat that is properly balanced, 
with the weight just in the right place, the grip just the right 
shape and the length proper, and it is this special knowledge which 
these batmakers have acquired through their long connection with A. 
G. Spalding & Bros., in turning out the superb line of Base Ball 
Bats which are manufactured at the Spalding bat factory. 

The Spalding Gold Medal Bats, in men's size, are made in three 
different styles. No. GIM, plain, white wax finish; No. GMT, taped bat; 
No. GMP, "professional, special dark finish. These three bats all sell 
at the same price, $1.00 each, and in the same quality is made a 
boy's size l)at. No. GMB. the price of which is 50 cents each. The 
special second growth ash that goes in the Gold Medal line of bats 
is the choice selection of the best ash timlier that can be bought 
anywhere at any price. The same grade of timber is used in the 
Spalding Mushroom Bats, of which two different styles are made. 
No. M. plain, special finish, and No. MT, with taped handle. The 
price of both of these Mushroom Bats is $1.00 each. The knob ar- 
rangement at the end of the Spalding Mushroom Bats gives a more 
even distribution of weight over the whole length than is possible 
under the old construction, and for certain kinds of play the bat is 
practically invaluable. Mr. Charles A. Comiskej , President of the 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



Chicago American League Club, Champions of the World, says: "The 
Spalding Mushroom Bat receives my hearty endorsement. My ex- 
perience as a ball player enables me to thoroughly appreciate its 
good qualities." And the following players on the Chicago National 
League Club, champions of the National League in 1906, F. L. Chance, 
John Evers, Joe Tinker, James F. Slagle and J. Kling, say: "In all 
our experience as Base Ball players we have not found a bat more 




TRADE MARK BATS. 



GOLD MEDAL BATS. MUSHROOM 

satisfactory than the Spalding Mushroom Bat." The opinion of John 
J. McGraw, Manager of the New York Base Ball Club of this bat 
is as follows: "For a long time I have been trying to find a bat 
that would balance when 'choking.' Not until I used the Spalding 
Mushroom Bat have I found a bat that was up to,'ny idea. ims 
bat is used exclusively by the New York players. And William 
Gleason, of the Philadelphia National League Club, says: I have 
played professional Base Ball for the last 15 years and have tried 



SPALDI-IGt'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



all kinds of bats, but uo bat has given me such good service as the 
Spalding Mushroom Bat. Quality and balance are perfect." 

The balance of the Spalding line of Base Ball Bats includes the 
"A. G. Spalding Autograph" Bat, 75 cents each; the No. 3-0, Wagon 
Tongue, full size bat, 50 cents; the No. OX, Axletree, with tape- 
wound handle, 35 cents; the No. 2X, full size bat, 25 cents; also the 
following boj's' size bats: No. 3X, Junior League, 25 cents; No. 
2XB, antique finish, 10 cents. 

H' ,v much a Base Ball catcher owes to a properly made mitt no 
one but he can tell. Spalding knows, however, how to make a mitt 
so as to give the greatest aid to the catcher. They have studied 
this point for years. They are continually experimenting and they 
claim that the result of their study and experimenting is shown in 
what they consider the Spalding perfect line of Base Ball Mitts for 
catchers, basemen and fielders. They spend a great amount yearly 
In investigating improved tanning processes, and at their factory 
maintain an expensive department devoted wholly to the one object 
of improving the construction of their goods. In every one of the 
Spalding mitts the best material obtainable is used. This not only 
applies to the leather but also to the padding, the thread in the 
stitching, the leather lacing thongs, and every other small detail in 
the manufacturing problem. 





No, 9-0 

This is the second season for the No. 9-0 Spalding Mitt. This 
style, with its patent molded face, proved a revelation to old time 
players when put out last season and took like wildfire. For the 
face of this mitt only the choicest parts of each hide are selected. 
The leather must be perfectly tanned, because of the peculiar stitch- 





No. 7-0 



No. 7.0R 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



Ing and the molding process which is necessary to produce a perfect 
"pocket" with no seams or rough places of any kind on the face. 
This mitt is padded with best felt, has steel wire lacing and a 
leather strap and brass buckle fastening at back. The price of the 
Spalding No. 9-0 Mitt is $8.00 each. The next grade is the Spalding 
No. 8-0, Trofessional Style, with face of white" l)uck and absolutely 
best grade material tlnoughout. The price of the No. 8-0 Mitt is 
$7.00 each-. 'ITu' Sp.ildin;;- No. 7-0 Mitt, which has become known 





No. S- Scoop No. 5-0 

generally as the "Perfection," is $6.00 each. It is of finest quality 
calfskin and has double row of stitching on ht t 1 p id Spalding' 





No. OX No. O 

makes a similar mitt to the number 7-0, but of black leather and 
without heel pad. This is known as the Spalding No. 7 0-R, and 
the price is $7.00 each. 





NO.OA 



No. A 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



In passing wo would like to mention the new Spalding Scoop Mitt, 
an extra large size, combining the good points of the baseman's pat- 
tern with the size of the largest mitt now in use by catchers. The 
scoop is stiffened with sole leather, giving full protection to the ends 
of the fingers, and as there is no strain at all on the face, there is 
no danger of injury to the thumb. The price of the No. S Scoop 
Mitt is .$1(>.()(>. An old favorite is the Spalding League Mitt, No. 
5-0, at $.j.')0 each. This is an excellent article, well made and very 




No. B No. D No. 4 

popular with som? of the best catchers on the big teams. The 
Spalding Decker Patent Mitt, No. 0-X, costs $3.50. This has a heavy 
piece of sole leather on the back for extra protection to the hands 
and fingers, and it is well made of best grade material throughout. 
other full size catchers' mitts in the Spalding line are No. Mitt, 




No. AB No. AA No. BE 

$:5.00: No. O-A Mitt, $2.00; No. A Mitt. $1.50; No. B Mitt, $1.00; 
No. D Mitt, $1.00; No. 4 Mitt. 50 cents. All of these mitts are 
made to fit men. They are well made throughout and they all bear 
the broad Spalding guarantee. The line of Spalding Youths' Mitts 
for catchers comprises the No. A-B, which is made without heel pad 






No. 5 No. BX 

md of t'xtra (piality wliite buck, price $1 .OO each; 
md giHid ([ualUy tin 



made witli patent lac- b 



No. BXR 
the No. A A INIltt, 
lughout, 50 cents; 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 

flic No. BB Mitt, a very populjir style, 50 cents, and the No. 5 Mitt, 
125 cents. 

When it comes to a Baseiruin's Mitt there iire a Kood many points 
to be considered that do not enter into the construction of a regular 
Catcher's Mitt. A Baseman's Mitt must be pliable, be of a certain 
size, and afford some i)rotection. In addition to this there are cer- 
tain other (jualities that cannot be described exactly, but which must 
all enter into the construction of the Baseman's Mitt which is to be 




No. BXS No. DX No. CX 

satisfactory to the great number of players who play on the bases 
and want a mitt that will help their play. The Spalding line of 
First Basemen's Mitts we feel certain includes all of the necessary 
qualities and we know that basemen on the largest teams use Spald- 
ing mitts almost universally. The line includes the Spalding, No. 
B-X. best (luality, made of choice selected and special tanned calf- 






No. 3C No. 3XR 

skin, price $4.00. Spalding makes a similar mitt of black leather. 
This is the No. BXR, the price of which is also .$4.00. Both of 
these mitts have the double row of stitching on heel pad and strap- 
and-buckle fastening at back. The No. BXS is made without the 
heel pad, but is otherwise similar to the No. BX, and the price is 
the same. A First Baseman's Mitt, made of drab leather and along 
the lines of the better grade styles, is the No. CX, the price of 






No. 3X No. 4X No. 5X 

which is $2.00. The next Mitt is No. DX, at $1.50, and an excellent 
First Baseman's Mitt for boys is the Spalding No. EX, at $1.00. 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



r»f Fielders' Mitts Spalding makes a oinuptvheiisive line. Those 
(I'ffer iu style from both the Basemen's and Cateheis' mitts, incor- 
porating in themselves speeial features whieh make them particularly 
attractive to Base Ball players in the field. The best grade Spalding 
Fielder's Mitt is the No. :;('. luadc of molded bro-,vii calfskin, loather 





Ko. GX. 

lined, and strap-and-bnckle fastening at back. The price of the No. 
:\C is $o.0<J each. A similar style of Mitt, but made of black leather, 
is the Spalding No. oXK, at $3.00, and on the same model, but 
made of white tanned buckskin, the Spalding No. oX at $o.OO. A 
very satisfactory style of Fielder's Mitt, of drab leather, is the 




No. PX. No. EX. No. 2X. 

Spalding No. 4X, at $2.00, and a very popular style the No. 5X, at 

$1.00. Two different styles of Fielder's Mitts are made for boys; 

No. 6X, of brown cnpc leather, at 50 cents, and No. 7X, of special 
I aimed leather, at 25 cents. 






No. 2XS No. AX. No. XS. 

Gloves must fit and they must feel comfortable, no matter whether 
they are made for walking, driving, or Base Ball. It is not suf- 
ficient to simplv sew two pieces of leather together in the shape of 
a man's hand 'and put it out as a glove. This is especially true 
with a Base Ball Glove. A ,man may wear a glove that is not 
suited to his hand, but he cannot play Base Ball to the best of hia 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GDIDB. 

ability If (ho kIovc he is woariiig is not properly made. Thirty 
years experience in the manufacture of everythinjj relating to the 
game of Base Ball has given Spalding an expert knowledge that no 
money can buy. The training that the people in the Spalding fac- 
tories has obtained during the time they have been turning out 





No. XL. No. X. No. 13. 

Spalding Athletic Goods is worth more to the Base Ball player who 
purchases the Spalding article than could be possibly charge'd for the 
article itself. It represents a part of the value of the Spalding 
trade -mark and another i)art of that value is contained in the broad 




No. 15. No. 15L. No. 12. No. 16. 

Spalding Guarantee which is given with every article of Spalding 
manufacture, a guarantee that is broader, we believe, than that given 
by any manufacturer in any line of goods. Spalding guarantees that 
their goods will give satisfaction,— not only that they will look right 




No. PXB. No. 14. No. XB. 



when thev are purchased, but that they will be right when they are 
Jut VS fnd'^that they will stay right ^'Me they are being used 
A guarantee as broad as this represents a good ^f °y doljars to a 
Base Ball team in the course of the season and ^t shmild be con- 
sidered when it comes to purchasing the outhts foi the team, es- 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



pecially when it is remembered that it costs nothing extra. The line 
of Spalding Infielders' Gloves comprises styles suitable for every class 
of player. The best glove turned out is the Spalding No. PX, Pro- 
fessional Style, at $3.00. This is made up on lines suggested by 
prominent professional players, and the buckskin used in its con- 
struction is tho tinest Spalding has been able to obtain anywhere. It 
is heavily padded around edges and extending well up into the little 
finger with tine quality felt. It has no heel pad, but is made extra 
long to protect the wrist. A similar gluve, but made of black 
leather, is the Spalding No. RX, price of which is $3.00. A very 
popular style which has retained its popularity during the great 
many years that we have been manufacturing it is the No. 2X In- 
fielder's Glove, the price of which is $2.50. Spalding makes a 
special professional style glove, No. 2XS. at $2.50. A popular price 
glove in the professional style is the Spalding No. XL. at $1.50, and 
with heel pad made of white tanned leather. The Spalding No. XS, 
at $2.00, is very good value. The other full size gloves in the 
Spalding line are the No. X, at $1.50: No. 13, at $1.00; No. 15, at 
$1.00; No. 15L, at $1.50; No. 12. at 75 cents; No. 16, at 50 cents. 
Included in the Spalding line are a number of gloves of youths' size, 
which are well made of the same material as that used in the men's 
gloves, but made in the proper size and in the correct shape for 
youths and boys. These are the No. PXB Glove, similar in every 
wa.v to the No. PX best men's glove, but in boy's size. The PXB 
costs $2.00 each. The next grade is the No. XB, in boy's size, 
similar in quality to the No. X. The No. XB costs $1.00. A special 
professional style boy's glove at a popular price is the No. 14, whicl) 
costs 50 cents, and the cheapest boy's glove is the No. 19, at 25 cents. 




No. 4-0 



No. 3-0 



No. 2-0 



Wlien it comes to a Base Ball Mask catchers require an article 
that will give full protection, that will not be too heavy and that 
will feel comfortable when they are wearing it. Spalding has 
studied out the requirements of the Base Ball catcher in this par- 
ticular thoroughly and we know that the Spalding line of Base Ball 
Masks comprises styles that are right in every necessary requisite. 
The best grade made by Spalding is the No. 4-0, Sun Protecting 
Mask, the style that is used by practically all of the big League 
catchers. The price of the No. 4-0 is .$4.00. It has the patent 
sunshade which protects the eyes without obstructing the view, and 
is strongly made of best material throughout. The next style, No. 
3-0, is very popular, and it affords absolute protection to the neck 
without interfering in the slightest with free movements. The No. 
3-0 costs $3.00 each. A very popular style with catchers on big 
teams is the Spalding No. 2-0, at $2.50. and the No. OX, black 
enameled, at $2.00, and No. 0, bright wire, at $1.50. A popular 
priced mask is the Spalding No. A, full size and substantially made. 
The price of the No. A is $1.00 and a cheaper priced full size mask 
Is the No, L, at 75 cents. In boys' masks Spalding makes three 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 

different styles No. B bright wire, very strongly made, costs $1.00; 
No. C, well padded, 50 cents, and No. D, of bright wire, 25 cents. 





No. 0. No. L. 

Spalding has added to the line of Base Ball Masks this season a 
special style for umpires. A mask for umpires has become an ex- 
tremely necessary part of their equipment and the new Spalding 
style combines the most desirable features of the best catchers' 
masks with the special points necessary for the umpire. This mask 
has a special ear protection, is well 
padded, and on the whole is the safest 
mask that has been made so far, 
while at the same time it is no heav- 
ier in weight than the regular catch- 
er's style. This is the Spalding No. 
5-0. cost of which is $5.<)0 each. 





No. B. No. C. No. D. ■ No. 5-0. 

Spalding was the first to introduce an inflated body protector made 
under the Gray Patent and the method used when the first Spalding 
Protector was' put out has been retained up to the present, with 
some improvements which add to the comfort and convenience of the 
catcher. The number of styles is greater than ever before in the 
Spalding line now, offering a wide range for selection. The Spalding 
body protectors are No. 8-0, large size, giving full protection, $8.00 
each; No. 2-0, large size, $6.00; No. 0, the popular I^>ague style. 
$5.00 each; No. 1, Amateur style, $4.00 each; No. M, Interscholastic 
style and full size. $3.00 each; No. 2, youth's size, $2.50 each. 
Spalding also makes two different styles of umpire body protectors. 
All of the umpire body protectors are made up specially to suit the 
individual wishes of the umpire and it is necessary when ordering to 
state how long the protector is to be made and how wide. It is 
also well, if possible, to send a paper diagram showing the exact 
size, so as to make certain of a proper fit. The two styles of 
umpire bod.v protectors that Spalding puts out this season are the 
No. L. large size, at $10.00, and the No. S. small size, at the same 
price, $10.00. 

A Base Ball team really considering their reputation should not 
rest when they have fitted up the individual players properly, but 
the ground should be pi-operly equipped, and to do this there is no 
way more certain than to purchase Spalding equipment. The bases 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 



•hould be considered first and of these Spalding makes three dif- 
ferent styles: No. 0, of extra quality canvas and quilted, cost 
$6.00 per set of three: No. 1, not quilted, $5.00 per set, and No. 3, 




No. S 



No. 2 



also of canvas, $3.50 per eet. In the home plates Spalding has tw» 
different styles, both of the proper shape and size, in accordance 
with league regulations, and the best quality is the No. 1, made of 



SPALDING'S OFFICIAL BASE BALL GUIDE. 

extra fino white rubber. The price of the No. 1 Home Plate i3 $9.00 
each. Spalding also has a very durable style of homt' plate made 
of composition, regulation size and shape. This is the No. i% which 
costs $5.00 complete with pins. In the Pitcher's Box Plates Spalding 
has the regulation size, made of white rubber complete with pina. 
This is the No. 3, at $7.00 each. Foul Flags made of bunting, 18x24 
inches, in any color and with one letter stitched ou each side, com- 
plete with 7-foot spearhead staflf, cost $1.50 each. When it comes 
to Shoe Plates the same players that use Spalding shoes recognize 
the value that there is in Spalding Shoe Plates. They are well made, 
of the very best material, and will give excellent satisfaction. The 
styles furnished by Spalding are the No. 3-0 and No. 40, toe and 
heel plates, respectively, of razor steel, sharpened, which cost 50 
cents per pair. The No. and No. 2-0 toe and heel plates, respec- 
tively, made of hardened steel, sharpened, at 25 cents per pair, and 
the No. 1 and No. IH, toe and heel plates, respectively, of good 
quality steel, sharpened, at 10 cents per pair. Then Spalding has 
the Pitcher's Toe Plates, No. A, made of aluminum, at 25 cents, 
and No. B, Brass also 25 cents. 

Starting on their trip, or even if they have no traveling to do, 
it is generally necessary for a Base Ball team to have a bag iu 
which the equipment of bats may be carried and in the Spalding 
line will be found bat bags to meet their requirements. The No. 2 
style will hold twelve bats, made of heavy waterproof canvas and 
leather reinforced, costs $3.50 each. The No. 3 style, similar to the 
No. 2, but to hold only six bats, costs $2.00 each. For League clubs 
particularly and for clubs having a schedule requiring any amount of 
traveling, Spalding has a special club bat bag of heavy leather with 
galvanized iron ends, No. 7, the price of which is $30.00. This bag 
holds three dozen full size bats and it is made so strong that it is 
absolutely unbreakable, making certain that the bats and the bag 
will reach their destination safely, no matter how the bag is handled. 
Individual players sometimes need bat bags for their own particular 
bats and Spalding makes three styles of individual bat bags. No. 01, 
of sole leather, to hold two bats, cost $4.00; No. 02, of heavy water- 
proof canvas, with leather cap at both ends, cost $1.50, and No. 03, 
with leather cap at one end, cost $1.00. The No. 5 combined uni- 
form and bat bag is a popular style. It will hold a complete uni- 
form and has a compartment also to carry one bat. It is made of 
best canvas and costs $3.50. An individual uniform bag that is a 
very convenient shape and is popular with many players is the 
Spalding No. 4, at $2.50, made of best quality white canvas with 
two leather handles and strap-and-buckle fastenings. The roll form 
of uniform bag is the style that enables a player to carry his uniform 
without wrinkling it. Spalding makes two styles of uniform bags in 
this form: No. 1, of best canvas, costs $3.00, and No. 2, of fine bag 
leather, costs $G.00. , . , , . , v .^^ * 

Score books are made in a great variety of styles, but a club that 
wishes to keep the record of their games in proper shape purchases a 
Spalding score book, which is the same as used by the othcial re- 
porters, and are the most convenient and simplest for general use. 
Club size, with board covers. No. 4, for 30 games, costs $1.00; No. 5, 
with cloth cover, for 60 games, costs $1.50; and the No 7, witli 
cloth cover, for 160 games, costs $3.00. In pocket size, the No. A 
with board cover, for 22 games, costs 25 cents, and the No. 1, with 
paper covers, for 7 games, costs 10 cents. Score cards cost 25 cents 
per dozen. For the umpire a very necessary article is a celluloid 
indicator, by which he can keep a record, ^;ithout any trouble of the 
balls and strikes. The Spalding Umpire Indicator No. costs 50 
cents and is substantially made and is endorsed and used by all 
League umpires. For ordinary scoring another simple device is the 
Spalding Scoring Tablet, made of celluloid and of a size so that It 
can be carried in the vest pocket. The Spalding Scoring Tablet No. 1 
costs 25 cents. 



The 

Spalding 
Official 
League 
Ball 








Used exclu- 
sively by the 
National 
League, 
Minor Lea- 
gues, and by 
all Intercolle- 
giate and other 
Associations 
for over a 
quarter of a 
century. Each 
ball wrapped 
in tinfoil and 

put in a separate box, and sealed in accordance with the regula- 
tions of the National League and American Association. War- 
ranted to last a full game when used 'jnder ordinary conditions. 

No. 1. - - . Each, $1.25 




If A 



THE SPALDING OFFICIAL 
LEAGUE BALL FOR BOYS 



Made with horse- 
hide cover, and in 
every respect same 
as our Official League Ball, except slightly smaller in size. 
Especially designed for junior clubs (composed of boys under 
1 6 years of age), and all games in which this ball is used will 
be recognized as legal games. Warranted to last a full game. 

No. IB. - - - Each. 7hc. 

A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of I Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. \ See inside cover page of this book. 



SPALDING 
OFFICIAL LEAGUE BALL 



Is the Standard of t;he World 

It is the Original League Ball It is the Universally Adopted Leagne Batt 

It is the Official League Ball It is the Best League Ball 

(t has been formally adopted as the Official Ball of 

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR 30 YEARS 

It has also been adopted as the Official Ball for all Championship 
Games by the following Professional Leagues : 

EASTERN LEAGUE for 20 years INTER-STATE LEAGUE for 9 years. 

NEW ENGLAND LEAGUE for 20 years NEW YORK STATE LEAGUE for 11 yeart 

NORTHERN LEAGUE for 5 years CENTRAL LEAGUE for 5 years 

TEXAS LEAGUE for 13 years SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE for 5 years 

WESTERN ASSOCIATION for 11 years INDIANA, ILLINOIS and IOWA 
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE for 10 years LEAGUE for 7 years 

And by 22 other Professional Leagues that have adopted the Spalding League Ball from 1 to i years. 

THE Spalding League Ball was first adopted by the National League in 1878, and is 
the only ball that has been used in Championship League Games since that time. 
In the recent great World's Championship Games in Chicago between the 
Chicago Nationals and the Chicago Americans the Spalding League Ball was used. 

IN addition to the different American adoptions, the' Spalding Official League Ball 
has been made the official ball by the governing Base Ball Associations of Mexico, 
Cuba, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Great Britain, Philippine Islands, Japan, 
and, in fact, wherever Base Ball is played. The Spalding League Ball has received 
this universal adoption because of its well established reputation for uniformity and 
high quality, but the special object of such adoptions, from the players' standpoint, is 
to secure absolute uniformity in a ball, that will prevent unfair "jockeying" with an 
unknown ball, and make National and International Base Ball contests possible, and 
at the same time make the records of players of value, and uniform throughout the 
world, which can only be secured by standardizing one well known ball. 

The Spalding Official League Ball i:^^::^^^ 

college teams. The soldiers and sailors in the United States Army and Navy use it exclusively. 
In fact, the Spalding League Ball is in universal use wherever Base Ball is played. 

Once in a while a minor league will experiment for a short rime with some other ball, but 
m variably returns to the Spalding _^ _ --- 

League Ball, which has now yjjg Standard of the World 

become universally recognized ^_„ , 

^ ) U» 

A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue oj I Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. I See inside cover page of this book. 



SPALDING 

J DOUBLE (j 
>|:)SEAMCc 

LEAGUE I 
jlJALLjpJ 




Made with the same care and of the same material as our Official / 
League Ball. The double stitch is used in its construction, ren- / / 
I dering it doubly secure against ripping. Every ball is wrapped / / 
in tinfoil and warranted to last a full game. 






No. Each, $1.50 

A. C. SPALDING &. BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue oj I Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. I See inside cover page of this book. 



1 




SPALDING 'VARSITY LEAGUE BALL 

Regulation size and weight, fine selected horsehide cover, rubber 
center, all wool yarn and far superior in material and workman- 
ship to any of the various imitations of our Official League Ball. 
Warranted to last a full game without losing its elasticity or shape. 
No. X. . Each, $1.00 

SPALDING AMATEUR LEAGUE BALL 

Made with horsehide cover and constructed throughout in a 
careful manner of best material. A full size ball and excellent 
for general practice. 

No. 1A. . Each. 75c. 

SPALDING INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE BALL 

but smaller in size. War- 



50*. 



Same quality as the 'Varsity League, 
ranted to last a full game. 

No. XB. . Each, 

SPALDING PROFESSIONAL BALL 

Full size ball. Made of carefully selected material throughout, 
and warranted first-class quality. 

No. 2. . Each, 50c. 

SPAI DING KING OF THE DIAMOND 

This ball is fv size, made of good material and horsehide cover. 

No. 5. . Each, 25c. 

Each of the above balls is put up in separate box and sealed. 



A. C. SPALDING Sl BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue oj I Stores in all large cities 

all Athletic Sports. I See xnstde cover page of this book. 




p 



Spalding Amateur Mitt 

Extra quality 
special tanned 
leather; perspir- 
ation proof; ex- 
tremely tough 
and durable; 
strap-and-buck- 
le fastening at 
back; reinforced 
and laced at 
thumb and made 
with our patent 
laced back. 

Made in Rights and Lefts 

No. A. Each, $1.50 No. a 

SPALDING YOUTHS' MITT 

Patent Lace Back 

Superior quality 

youths' mitt. Made 

with extra quality 

white buck face 

and finger - piece ; 

extremely tough 

and durable ; well 

padded; reinforced 

and laced at thumb; 

strap - and - buckle 

fastening at back. 

No heel pad. 

No. AB. Each, $1.00 




Made in No. AB 
Rights and Lefts 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 



all Athletic Sports. 



See inside cover page of this book. 



Spalding Practice Mitt 




No. B 



Men's size. Face 
and back of spe- 
cial tanned buck; 
sides of firm 
leather; rein- 
forced and laced 
at thumb ; strap- 
and-buckle fast- 
ening at back. 
No heel pad. 

No.B. 
Each, $1.00 

Made in Rights and 
Lefts 



Spalding Dollar Mitt 



Patent Lace Back 

Men's size. Made 
throughout of 
good quality oil 
tannedleather; re- 
inforced and laced 
at thumb ; strap- 
and- buckle fast- 
ening at back. 
No heel pad. 

No.D. 
Each, $1.00 



.-^s^^^^- 



Made 



in Rights and 
Lefts 




No. D 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue oj I Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. | See inside cover page of this book. 



Spalding Youth's Mitt 



Cc: 



D 



Patent Lace Back 



-^ 




Made with good 
quality gray bucl^ 
face and back, and 
oil tanned leather 
sides; reinforced 
and laced thumb. 

No heel pad. 
No. AA. 

Each, 50c. 

Made in Rights and 



No. AA 



Lefts 



Spalding Junior Mitt 



Csi 



D 




Patent Lace Back ^ 

Most popular mitt 
made; face and 
back of special tan- 
ned buck; well pad- 
ded ; laced thumb. 
No heel pad. 

No. BB. 
Each, 50c. 

Made in Rights and 
Lefts 



No. BB 



A. C. SPALDING Sl BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of I Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. 1 See inside cover page of this book. 



SPALDING No. O MITT 




Face, sides and 
linger piece 
made of velvet 
tanned brown 
leather and the 
back of selected 
buck; well pad- 
ded; no heel 
pad; strap-and- 
buckle fasten- 
ing at back; re- 
inforced and 
laced at thumb, 
and made with 
our patent laced 
back. 

No. O. 
Each, $3.00 



No. O 

SPALDING 
No. OA 
MITT 

Extra larg-e and 
heavily padded ; vel- 
vet tanned brown 
leather face and I 
special tanned I 
leather finger-piece 
and back; extreme- 
ly well made; strap- 
and-buckle fasten- 
ing at back ; rein- 
forced and laced at 
thumb, and made 
with our patent 
laced back. 

No. OA. 
Each, $2.00 

Made in Rights and Lefts 



f; 



A. 




Send for Complete Catalogue of 1 Stores in all ^^'^aecvttes 

all Athletic Sports. I See inside cover page of this book. 




No. DX First Basemen's Mitt 

Men's size; a good 
article at a moderate 
price; made of oak 
tan specially selected 
leather, laced all 
around ; strap-and- 
buckle fastening at 
back; a very easy 
fitting mitt. 

No. DX. 
Each, $1.50 

Made in Rights 
and Lefts 



No. EX First Basemen's Mitt 

An excellent mitt 
for boys; made of 
good quality white 
leather, laced all 
around. Suitably 
padded and will 
give very good 
service. 

No. EX. 
Each, $1.00 

Made in Rights 
il and Lefts 




P 



No. EX 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. \ See -inside cover page of this book. 



==fXh: 




Spalding No. 4X 
Fielders' Mitt 

Style much improved; made of 
specially tanned drab leather, 
well padded with fine felt, leather 
hned, and carefully sewed and 
finished; laced thumb, strap-and- 
buckle fastening at back, 

No. 4X. Each, $2.00 

Made in Rights and Lefts. 

Spalding No. 5X 
Fielders' Mitt 

An exceedingly good mitt at a 
popular price; the face made of 
white tanned buckskin, brown 
leather back; laced thumb; con- 
structed throughout in a most 
substantial manner ; strap-and- 
buckle fastening at back. 

No. 5X. Each, $1.00 

Made in Rights and Lefts. 



Spalding Boys' 
Fielders' Mitts 

A substantial mitt for boys; made 
throughout of a good quality 
brown cape leather, well padded 
and laced thumb, and without 
doubt the best mitt of the kind 
ever sold at the price. 

I No. ex. Each, 50c. 

Made in Rights and Lefts. / 1 

Made of special tanned buck, / I 



well padded and substantially 
made; laced thumb. 

No. 7X. Each, 25c. 

Made in Rights and Lefts. 



r 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. I See inside cover page of this book. 



Q 



Spaldmg Regulation Infielders' Glove 




No. 2X 



This glove has retained 
its popularity for years, 
and to-day is acknowl- 
edged to be one of the 
most practical styles on 
the market. Made of 
selected velvet tanned 
buckskin, lined and cor- 
rectly padded with finest 
felt. Highest quality 
w^orkmanship through- 
out. 

No. 2X. 
Each, $2.50 

Made in Rights 
and Lefts 



Spalding No. 2XS Infielders' Glove 



& 



A special glove v^ith 
features that v^ill appeal 
lo the professional 
player. Made extra 
long, of selected velvet 
tanned buckskin, lined 
and lightly padded. 
Has no heel pad. 

No. 2XS. 
Each, $2.50 

Made in Rights 
and Lefts 




No. 2XS 



Made with Web of leather between Thumb and First Finger. 
This can be cut out very easily if not required. 

A. C. SPALDING &, BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 



all Athletic Sports. 



See inside cover page of this book. 




Men's size glove. Made of good 
quality oil tanned leather, well 
finished and exceedingly dur- 

="'" No. XS. 
Each, $2.00. 




A good all-around glove, im- 
proved style. Made of good 
quality white tanned horse- 
hide, well padded and leather 
lined. 

No. X. 
Each, $1.50 



A popular price profes- 
sional style full size glove. 
Made of good quality as- 
bestos buck, padded cor- 
rectly. 



No. 13. 
Each, $1.00 



Made 



No. 13 
Made in Rights and Lefts 

.ith Web of leather between Thumb and First Fmger. 
This can be cut out very easily if not required^ 



A C SPALDING & BROS. 




p 



Spalding No. AX Infielders' Glove 

Made throughout of 
specially tanned 
calfskin. Padded 
with best quality 
felt; has no heel pad, 
and is made extra 
long to protect wrist. 
Highest quality 
workmanship 
throughout. 

No. AX. 
Each, $2.50 

Made in Rights 
and Lefts 

Spalding No. XL Infielders' Glove 

Made in style 
similar to our No. 
PX professional 
glove, but of white 
tanned horsehide. 
Has no heel pad 
and is made extra 
long. 

No. XL. 
Each, $1.50 

Made in Rights 
and Lefts 

Made with Web of leather between Thumb and First Finger. 
This can be cut out very easily if not required. 

A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of I Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. I See inside cover page of this book. 




No. XL 



Blade with Web of leather betrueen Thumb and First 
Finder. This can be cut out very easily if not required. 



Spalding Q 
Men*s Size 
Infielders* 
Gloves 5^ p 



Made in professional 
style; of good qual- 




No. 12 



ity soft suede tanned white leather ; nicely 
padded. No heel pad. Made in Rights and 
Lefts. ^^^ 12. Each, 75c. 



A good glove ; full 
size; improved style. 
Fine quality soft 
tanned white leath- 
er ; nicely padded. 
No heel pad. Made 
Rights and Lefts. / 




m 



No. 16. 
Each, 50c. 



A. C. SPALDING Sl BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. 1 See inside cover page of this book 



Q\ 



p 



Blade ivith Web of leather betzueen Thumb and First 
Finger. This can be eut out very easily if not required. 

Spalding Nen*s Size 

Infiel ders* Gloves 

— ^ 
A well made glove; 
improved style. 
Made of extra fine 
quality brown leath- 
er; well padded. 
No heel pad. Made 
in Rights and Lefts. 
No. 15. 
Each, $ 1 .00 

No. 15 

Made in professional 
style, with no heel 
pad and extra heav- 
ily padded around 
edges and well up 
into the little finger. 
Material same as in 

No. 15. Made in 
Rights and Lefts. 

No.lSL. Each, $1.50 




all Athletic Sports 




A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of I Stores in all large citi 



See inside cover page of this book 



Made with Web of leather between Thumb and First 
Finger. This can be cut out very easily if not required. 



SPALDING YOUTHS' SIZE 
INFIELDERS' GLOVES 



Our best youths' glove, 
professional style; 
made throughout of se- 
lected velvet tanned 
buckskin. Quality of 
material, workmanship 
and style same as our 
No. PX best men's 
glove ; a n article o f 
particular merit. Made 
in Rights and Lefts. 
No.PXB. Each, $2.00 




o. PXB 




No.XB 



A good youths' size 
glove. Made of fine 
quality white tanned 
horsehide. Similar 
in material, work- 
manship and style to 
our No. X men's 
glove, but with doub- 
le stitched heel pad. / 
Made in Rights and 

^^f^^' No. XB. 
Each, $1.00 



o- 



Se 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

^ndfor Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all ^^^deci^es. 
all Athletic Sports. \ See inside cover page of this booh. 



d>Qz 




Spalding Regulation League Mask 

Made of heavy soft 
annealed steel wire. 
Well finished and 
reliable in every 
particular. 

No. OX. 

Black Enameled. 
Each, $2.00 

No. 0. 
Bright Wire. 
Each, $1.50 No. 

Spalding Amateur Mask 

Same size and general style as the League 
mask. Substantially made and warranted 
perfectly safe. Black enameled. 

No. A. . Each, $1.00 

Spalding Boys' 
Amateur Mask 

Exactly same quality as 
our No. A mask, only 
smaller in size. An abso- 
lutely safe mask for boys. 
Black enameled. 
No. B. 
No. B Each, $1.00 

A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 

all Athletic Sports. \ See inside cover page of this book. 








Si 












■„-g.S.b- 
§ 2; c 2 









o d 




^ U* Since 1 87 7, when we introduced 

OPdluinO^ t^^e Spalding line oi Trade- 

^— ^ • J 1^- ^ . Marked Bats, they have been 

I V^ACi^^n^AI^IC recognized as standard by play- 
ers to whom quality is a consid- 
■& tf^^Q eration. Wherever possible, we 

^^^^O have improved both style and 

quality from time to time, and the assortment as now made up 
comprises absolutely the most up-to-date and thoroughly trust- 
worthy styles that can be produced. The timber used in their 
construction is seasoned from two to three years before using, 
thus ensuring not only a lighter and 
stronger bat, but also retaining the life 
quality and driving power of 
the natural wood. 

SPALDING 
MEN'S BATS 




AUTOGRAPH BAT C — 



Autograph Bat. Supe- 
rior quality. Fine polish 
finish, . Each, 75c. 

No, 3-0, SpaldingWagon 
Tongue Ash Bat, League 
quahty,special finish, spot- 
ted burning. Each, 50c. 

No. OX, Spalding-Axle- 
tree" Bat, finest straight 
grained ash ; tape wound 
handle. . Each 35c„ 

No.2X. Spalding Mens 
bat, extra quality ash. 

Each. 25c. 

SPALDING BOYS' BATS 

No. 3X. Spalding Junior League Bat, extra quality ash, 
spotted burning, .... Each,, 25c. 

No. 2XB. Spalding Boys' Bat, selected quality ash, polished 
and varnished ; antique finish. . . Each, 10 c. 



A. C. SPALDI 

Send for Complete Catalogtieof 
all Athletic Sports. 



NC & BROS. 

Stores in all large cities. 
See inside cover page of this book. 






Spalding Inflated 

Body Protedors 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Made of best rubber, injiated with air. 
When not in use can be rolled into a 
very small packag e after air is let o%it. 

Ti II irinrfrrrnirrrniTTriTTrrrnTnT 

No. 3-0. Full protection ; large 
size. Covering- of special import- 
ed material, and in every parti- 
cular the best protector made. 

Each, $8.00 

No. 2-0. Full protection ; large 
size. Best grade covering and a 
very durable protector. $6.00 

No. O . League Catchers' Pro- 
tector, Same in every particular 
as we have been supplying for 
years to most of the prominent 
League catchers. Each, $5.00 

No. I . Amateur Catchers' Pro- 
tector. Quality and design same 
as we have been furnishing for 
years past ; full size. Each, $4.00 

No. IVI . Interscholastic Catchers' 
Protector; full size and very well 
made. . . . Each, $3.00 

No. 2. Youths' Catchers' Pro- 
tector ; well made and good size. 

Each, $2.50 

iiniiiiimiiiiiii 



Nos. 0, 1 and M 



WE were the first to 
introduce an in- 
flated body pro- 
tector, made under the 
Gray patent, and the 
method used then has 
been retained in the 
improved style, with 
the addition of a special 
break at the bottom, 
which makes it more 
pliable and convenient. 

lillllllllllllllllllllll 




A. C. SPALD 

Send for Complete Catalogiie of I 
all Athletic Sports. I 



INC Sc BROS. 

Stores in all large cities. 
See inside cover page of this book. 



Special Catalogue, showing all colors and qualities, will be 
mailed on application to any team, together with measurement 
blank and full instructions for measuring players tor uniforms. 



No Extra Charge for letter- 
ing shirts with name of club nor 
r^ for detachable sleeves. ^ 

Spalding Junior 
Uniform No. 5 

This uniform is made ex- 
pressly for clubs composed 
of boys and youths and 
will stand the hardest 
kind of wear. 

COLORS 

Maroon, Green 

Blue Gray, Brown Mix 

SPALDING JUNIOR 
Uniform No. 5. 

Complete, $4.00 

Net price to clubs ordering Nine 

or more Uniforms, aio f\f\ 
Per suit, «|>0«\/V/ 

Spalding Junior Shirt, any style 

Spalding Junior Pants, padded. 

Spalding Junior Cap, styles 21 
and 5 only. 

Spalding Junior Belt. 

Spalding Junior Stockings. 
No. 4RS Striped Stockings 
furnished, if desired, at No 
Extra Charge, but in stock 
colors only. 



No Larger Sizes than 

30-inch waist and 34-inch 
chest furnished in this uniform . 
( T = ^ 

The 

Spalding Youths' 
Uniform No. 6 

Very well made of good 
quality Gray material. 

SPALDING YOUTHS' 

Uniform No, 6. 

Complete, $1.00 

Spalding Youths' Shirt, button 
front, with one felt letter 
only. 

Spalding Youths'Pants, padded 

Spalding Youths' Cap, style 21. 

Spalding Youths' Belt. 

Spalding Youths' Stockings. 
No. 4RS Striped Stockings 
furnished, if desired, at No 
Extra Charge, but in stock 
colors only. 

- ^ 

WE have on hand a special 
flannel, Royal Purple, 

dyed particu- 



larly for teams 
connected with 
the Order of 
Elks. While 
we do not rec- 
commend that this be made up solid color in 
suits, still it makes a beautiful combination as 
trimming on white flannel, and we are making 
these uniforms now in that way in our 
Nos. 0, 1 and 2 qualities only. 

A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of \ Stores in all large cities. 



all Athletic Sports. 



See inside cover page of this book. 





Spalding 
Club 
Special 
Shoe 



No.O 




Spalding 
Amateur 
Special 
Shoe 



No.O. Made of care- 
fully selected satin 
calfskin, machine 
sewed, very substan- 
stially constructed, 
and a first-class shoe 
in every particular. 
Steel plates riveted to 
heel and sole. 

Per pair, $5.00 

(P:^ 

No. 35. Made of 
g-ood quality calfskin, 
machine sewed; a 
serviceable and dur- 
able shoe, and one we 
can specially recom- 
mend. Plates riveted 
to heel and sole. 

Per pair, $4.00 



Spalding 
Junior Shoe 




No 37. A leather ^shoe, complete with plates. Made on 
regular base ball shoe last and an excellent shoe for ^umor 
teams. , . . • • 



Per pair, $2.50 




Hatfield Base Ball 
Shoe Plate Protector 

{Patented) 

I \ No. K. A great thing for base ball players who cannot conven- 

\ \ iently change their shoes at the grounds. The protectors are 

\ 1 put on in a moment and will not come loose. No trouble about 

\ damaging hotel floors when these protectors are worn, as they 

I are mado of sole leather. Special elastic centre, adjusting to 

Jj any size shoe Per pair, $ 1 .50 b 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

Send for Complete Catalogue of 1 Stores in all large cities, 

all Athletic Sports. 1 



See inside cover page of this book. 



JUN 141907 



?H^ 



Ot^ut^ 




?/? 



Albert G. and J. Walter Spalding commenced business March 
ist, 1876, at Chicago, under the firm name A. G. Spalding & Bro., 
with a capital of $800. Two years later their brother-in-law, 
William T. Brown, came into the business, and the firm name 
was then changed to A. G. Spalding & Bros. 

The business was founded on the Athletic reputation of Mr. 
A. G. Spalding, who acquired a national prominence in the realm 
of Sport, as Captain and Pitcher of the Forest City's of Rockford, 
111. (1865-70), the original Boston Base Ball Club (Champions of 
the United States, 1871-75), and the Chicago Ball Club (1876-77), 
first Champions of the National League. He was also one of the 
original organizers, and for many years a director, of the National 
League of America, the premier Base Ball organization of the 
world, :jMr. Spalding has taken an important part in Base Ball 
affairs ever since it became the National Game of the United States 
at the close of the Civil War in 1865. The returning veterans of 
that War, who had played the game as a camp diversion, dis- 
seminated this new American field sport throughout the country, 
and thus gave it its national character. 

Base Ball Goods were the only articles of merchandise carried 
the first year, the total sales amounting to $11,000. Gradually 
implements and accessories of Athletic Sports were added, until 
the firm now manufacture the requisites for all kinds of Athletic 
SportSo Originally the firm contracted for their supplies from 
outside manufacturers, but finding it impossible, by this method, 
to keep the standard of quality up to their high ideals, they 
gradually commenced the manufacture of their own goods, and 
by the acquisition from time to time of various established 
factories located in different parts of the country, are now able 
to, and do manufacture in their own factories everything bearing 
the Spalding Trade-Mark, which stands the world over as a 
guarantee of the highest quality. 



There are over three thousand persons employed in various 
capacities in A. G. Spalding & Bros.' factories and stores located 
in'kll the leading cities of the United States, Canada and England. 
A capital of over $4,000,000 is employed in carrying on this busi- 
ness, and the annual sales exceed the total combined annual sales 
of all other manufacturers in the world making a similar line 
of goods. 

A. G. Spalding & Bros, have always taken a leading part in 
the introduction, encouragement and support of all new Sports 
and Games, and the prominence attained by Athletic Sports in 
the United States is in a very great measure due to the energy, 
, enterprise and liberality of this progressive concern. They were 
the pioneers, and in fact the founders, of the Athletic Goods 
Trade in America, and are now universally recognized as the 
undisputed Leaders in the Athletic Goods line throughout the 
world. 

The late Marshall Field of Chicago, America's greatest Mer- 
chant, speaking of the business of A. G. Spalding & Bros., said: 
*' I am familiar with its early career, growth and development, 
and when I compare its unpromising outlook and the special 
field for its operations that existed at its inception in 1876, with 
its present magnitude, I consider it one; of the most remarkabh 
mercantile successes of the world." 

The millions of Athletes using them, and the thousands of 
Dealers selling them, attest to the High Quality of Spalding's 
Athletic Goods, and they must determine the future history of 
this concern. 




17^ ■ I 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

■■. 

005 900 867 5 # 



A separate book covers ev ^ 

and is Official and Standard 
Price 10 c ents each 



GRAND PRIZE 






ST. LOUIS, 1904 



GRAND PRIX 




PARIS, 1900 



SPALDING 
ATHLETIC GOODS 



A fi SPALD1N6 & BROS. 

NEW YORK ^ LOUIS 

PHILADELPHIA CINCINNATI 

BOSTON CLEVELAND 

BALTIMORE DETROIT 

WASHINGTON KANSAS CITY 

PITTSBURG MINNEAPOLIS 

BUFFALO nrNVFR 



MONTREAL, CAN 



LONDON, ENG 



W"^ "ai^ . ;i;ssi?ss- sMi;^ 



